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FOUNDED  BY  JOHN  D.  ROCKEFELLER 


LA  CALPRENEDE'S  ROMANCES  AND 
THE  RESTORATION  DRAMA 


A  DISSERTATION 

SUBMITTED    TO    THE    FACULTY    OF    THE-  GRADUATE    SCHOOL    OF    ARTS 

AND    LITERATURE    IN    CANDIDACY    FOR    THE    DEGREE    OF 

DOCTOR    OF    PHILOSOPHY 

(department  of  ENGLISH) 


BY 

HERBERT  WYNFORD  HILL 


Reprinted  from  the  University  of  Nevada  Studies,  Vol.  II,  No.  3  (1910),  and 

Vol.  Ill,  No.  2  (191 1) 


XTbe  JUnivcvBit^Q  ot  (Tbicaao 

FOUNDED  BY  JOHN  D.  ROCKEFELLER 


LA  CALPRENEDE'S  ROMANCES  AND 
THE  RESTORATION  DRAMA 


X  ^P^ 


A  DISSERTATION 

SUBMITTED    TO    THE    FACULTY    OF    THE    GRADUATE    SCHOOL    OF    ARTS 

AND    LITERATURE    IN    CANDIDACY    FOR    THE    DEGREE    OF 

DOCTOR    OF    PHILOSOPHY 

(department  of  English) 


BY 
HERBERT  WYNFORD  HILL 


Reprinted  from  the  University  of  Nevada  Studies,  Vol.  II,  No.  3  (1910),  and 

Vol.  Ill,  No.  2(1911) 


Composed  and  Printed  By 

The  University  of  Chicago  Press 

Chicago.  Illinois,  U.S.A. 


PREFACE 

The  present  study  of  the  influence  of  La  Calprenede's 
romances,  Cassandra  and  Cleopatra^  on  the  late  seventeenth- 
century  drama  is  the  second  of  a  series  concerned  with  the 
influence  of  types  of  novels  on  the  plays  of  the  period.  The 
first  of  the  series  presented  the  influence  of  the  pastoral 
romances.  On  tracing  this  influence  it  was  found  that  in 
the  second  half  of  the  century  new  currents  of  influence 
were  setting  in;  and  that  while  the  older  influences  persisted 
to  a  greater  or  less  extent  and  in  some  cases  lent  themselves 
with  modification  to  the  new  spirit,  they  were  no  longer  in 
control.  Chief  among  the  new  forces  was  the  Fj-ench  heroic 
romance,  a  type  having  its  beginning  in  D'Urfe's  Astrea 
(1607-19),  maturing  in  Gomberville's  Polexander  (1629- 
37),  and  flowering  luxuriantly  in  the  romances  of  La  Calpre- 
nede  and  Mile  Scudery.^  And  this  was  the  type  selected 
for  the  present  investigation.  As  the  study  proceeded  the 
necessity  of  setting  some  limitations  became  imperative, 
and  La  Calprenede  was  chosen  as  the  representative  of  the 
heroic  school.  Later  it  was  found  advisable  still  further  to 
limit  the  study  to  Cassandra  and  Cleopatra.  It  is  hoped  that 
the  range  is  sufficiently  broad  to  indicate  the  main  lines  of 
influence.     To  Dr.  Frederic  Ives  Carpenter,  who  drew  my 

1  The  principal  French  romances  included  in  this  group  are,  in  addition 
to  those  already  named:  Francois  de  MoliSre's  Polixene  (1623),  a  pastoral 
heroic  romance;  Gombauld's  Endymion  (1624),  an  aUegorical  heroic  romance; 
Jean-Pierre  Camus'  Iphigenes  (1625),  a  pastoral  heroic  romance;  Jean  Des- 
maretz,  siexir  de  Saint-Sorlin's  Ariane  (1632),  a  historical  heroic  romance; 
Pierre  d'Ortigue,  sieur  de  VaumoriSre's  Le  Grand  Scipion  (1656-62).  La 
Calprenede's  romances  were  Cassandre  (1642-50);  CUopdtre  (1647-58);  and 
Faramond  (1661-70).  Mademoiselle  de  Scudgry's  romances  were  Ibrahim 
(1641);  Artamene  ou  le  Grand  Cyrus  (1649-53);  La  Clelie  (1654-60);  and 
Almahide  (1660-63). 

1 


255773 


2  Herbert  Wynford  Hill 

attention  to  this  line  of  research,  I  am  indebted  for  many 
helpful  suggestions.  Professor  John  Matthews  Manly  I 
wish  to  thank  for  encouragement  and  kindly  criticism.  To 
Dr.  Myra  Reynolds  and  the  Seminar  of  1907  in  the  heroic 
play  I  owe  many  contributions  to  the  second  part  of  this 
study.  From  the  librarians  of  Harvard,  Columbia,  Cornell, 
and  Chicago  Universities  I  have  received  numerous  courte- 
sies. 


LA  CALPRENEDE'S  ROMANCES  AND  THE  RESTO- 
RATION DRAMA 

By  Herbert  Wynford  Hill 

PART  I:  THE  ROMANCES 
THE  PLOT  OF  Cassaudra 
The  main  plot.^ — Oroondates^  the  young  prince  of  Scythia, 
while  serving  in  his  father's  army  against  Darius,  king  of 
Persia-,  bursts  into  one  of  the  tents  of  the  enemy,  and  sees 
the  divine  Statira,  the  daughter  of  the  king.  Although 
forced  to  depart  on  the  instant,  he  is  captivated  by  this 
glimpse  of  the  most  perfect  workmanship  of  the  gods.  Dur- 
ing the  remainder  of  the  campaign  he  is  haunted  by  the 
beautiful  vision;  and  as  soon  as  the  armies  withdraw  to  their 

1  The  plot  analyses  throughout  will  not  be  exhaustive  but,  it  is  hoped, 
sufiSciently  complete  to  guide  the  reader  to  an  understanding  of  La  CalprenSde's 
method  of  plot  structure.  The  plots  on  which  plays  are  based  will  be  pre- 
sented more  in  detail  when  the  plays  are  discussed.  For  fiu-ther  synopses 
the  reader  may  consult  Bihliothkque  universelle  des  romans  (October,  1700, 
and  November,  1780);  and  Koerting,  Geschichte  des  franzosichen  Romans  im 
17.  Jahrhundert,  Vol.  I,  pp.  247-81. 

2  The  antecedent  action  of  the  Cassandra  is  introduced  in  the  form  of 
"histories"  told  by  Araxes,  squire  to  Oroondates,  by  Cleone,  and  by  Toxaris. 
See  pp.  5-33,  41-113,  242-55,  253-70.  The  page  references  here  and  elsewhere, 
xmless  otherwise  specified,  are  to  Cotterell's  translation  of  Cassandra,  ed. 
of  1676.     The  title-page  reads  as  follows: 

"Cassandra  The  Fam'd  Romance.  The  Whole  Work:  In  Five  Parts. 
Written  Originally  in  French,  and  Now  Elegantly  Rendred  into  English  By 
Sir  Charles  Cotterell,  Master  of  the  Ceremonies  to  His  late  Majesty  of  Blessed 
memory,  and  to  om-  present  Soveraign  Charles  II.  King  of  Great  Britain, 
France  and  Ireland,  etc.  London  Printed  for  Peter  Parker,  at  the  Leg  and 
Star  over  against  the  Royal  Exchange  in  ComhiU,  1676." 

One  of  the  best  discussions  of  La  Calpren6de's  romances  and  of  the  other 
French  romances  of  the  seventeenth  century  is  that  of  Professor  Thomas 
Frederick  Crane  in  the  introduction  to  his  excellent  edition  of  Boileau's  Les 
heros  de  roman.  Other  accounts  are  those  of  Koerting  mentioned  above. 
Morillot's  Le  roman  en  France  depuis  1610  jusqu'  ii  nos  jours,  Le  Breton's  Le 
roman  au  dix-septieme  sihcle,  and  Charlanne's  Influence  frangaise  en  Angle- 
terre  au  XV 11^  siecle,  chap.  vl. 

3 


4  Herbert  Wynford  Hill 

winter  quarters,  being  unable  longer  to  endure  the  torments 
of  his  passion,  he  goes  in  disguise  to  the  Persian  camp.  Here 
by  his  prowess  and  magnanimity  he  wins  the  lasting  friend- 
ship of  Artaxerxes,  Statira's  brother.  With  this  beginning 
he  rapidly  advances  in  Statira's  esteem  and  affections;  at 
the  proper  moment  his  high  rank  is  discovered,  and  he  learns 
with  rapture  that  Statira  returns  his  love.  Through  the 
trickery  of  Roxana,  who  is  herself  in  love  with  Oroondates, 
Statira  is  led  to  believe  that  he  is  false  and  she  marries  Alex- 
ander, who  has  meanwhile  captured  her  father's  kingdom. 
After  Oroondates  has  recovered  from  the  shock  of  the 
announcement  of  this  marriage,  he  sets  out  for  Babylon  with 
the  intention  of  killing  Alexander;  on  the  way  he  learns  that 
Alexander  is  dead.  He  hears  also  that  Roxana,  who  is  now 
in  control  of  affairs  in  Babylon,  has  put  to  death  Statira.  It 
appears  later,  however,  that  this  last  information  was  false. 
Perdiccas,  to  whom  the  task  of  beheading  Statira  is  assigned, 
himself  being  in  love  with  her,  executes  in  her  place  a  slave. 
He  furthermore  takes  her  to  a  place  of  safety,  the  house  of 
Polemon,  on  the  banks  of  the  Euphrates,  not  far  from  the 
walls  of  Babylon. 

It  is  at  this  point  that  the  romance  opens.^  In  the  pleas- 
ing shade  of  leafy  trees  not  more  than  two  or  three  hundred 
paces  distant  from  the  house  of  Polemon,  our  hero  is  intro- 
duced. Hardly  has  he  tasted  the  first  sweetness  of  slumber, 
when  he  is  disturbed  by  the  noise  of  neighboring  conflict. 
Rushing  to  the  scene  of  combat  he  intuitively  joins  the  weaker 
side.  One  of  the  contestants  flees,  leaving  Oroondates  to 
continue  the  combat  with  the  other.  While  thus  engaged 
these  two  are  set  upon  by  a  dozen  followers  of  the  fugitive; 

1  Interspersed  in  the  main  story  are  frequent  "histories"  which  serve 
to  bring  the  various  threads  of  the  plot  up  to  date.  These  rather  seriously 
break  the  continuity  of  the  narration,  as  the  following  page  references,  marking 
the  progress  of  the  main  plot,  wiU  indicate:  pp.  1-4;  34-40;  114-208;  256-86; 
307-28;  339-45;  363-64,  etc. 


La  Calprenede's  Romances  5 

joining  forces  they  drive  off  this  band.  When  all  is  quiet 
once  more,  there  is  an  exchange  of  compliments,  and  Oroon- 
dates  discovers  his  companion  to  be  Lysimachus.  He  further 
discovers  that  the  knight  whom  he  helped  escape  is  no  other 
than  Perdiccas.  As  a  final  blow  he  is  told  by  Lysimachus 
of  the  reported  death  of  Statira,  and  throwing  himself  on 
his  sword,  falls  weltering  in  a  river  of  blood.  Fortunately 
his  wound  is  not  fatal  and  he  is  borne  to  the  house  of  Polemon, 
where  he  rapidly  recovers.  Statira  is  carried  back  to  Baby- 
lon by  Perdiccas.  Oroondates,  with  the  assistance  of  his 
friends,  finally  wins  the  city,  and  the  hand  of  Statira. 

the  two  duplicating  plots 

The  LysimachuS'Parisatis  plot} — Lysimachus,  serving 
under  Alexander  during  the  invasion  of  the  Persian  empire, 
meets  Parisatis,  who  with  her  sister  Statira  is  taken  captive 
after  the  defeat  of  Darius.  He  falls  in  love  with  this  princess 
and  renders  her  some  signal  services.  Alexander,  in  whose 
hands  lies  the  disposition  of  Parisatis,  supports  Lysimachus' 
rival,  Hephestion.  Lysimachus  repeatedly  attempts  to 
fight  with  his  rival,  and  for  this  is  condemned  to  be  eaten  by 
a  lion.  Lysimachus  succeeds  in  killing  the  lion,  but  even 
this  exhibition  of  prowess  does  not  avail.  Hephestion 
marries  Parisatis,  but  dies  soon  after.  Lysimachus  hears 
that  Parisatis  has  been  killed,  together  with  Statira.  He 
joins  Oroondates  in  the  capture  of  Babylon  and  thus  gains 
Parisatis. 

The  Artaxerxes-Berenice  plot^ — Artaxerxes,  son  of  Darius, 
is  severely  wounded  during  an  engagement  with  the  Scythian 
forces;  he  is  left  for  dead  on  the  battlefield.     He  is  rescued 

1  The  story  up  to  the  point  where  Lysimachus  joins  Oroondates  is  told 
by  Lysimachus,  pp.  119-56. 

2  The  story  is  mingled  in  a  puzzling  way  with  the  main  action.  To 
further  compUcate  matters,  the  solution  is  held  in  suspense  imtil  the  close. 


6  Herbert  Wynford  Hill 

and  brought  back  to  health  by  a  noble  enemy.  In  due  time 
he  meets  Berenice,  the  daughter  of  the  Scythian  king,  and 
falls  in  love  with  her.  Encouraged  by  the  recollection  of 
Oroondates'  success  in  a  similar  situation  he  urges  a  success- 
ful suit.  Hardly  has  he  enjoyed  the  first  raptures  of  a 
requited  passion  when  he  is  summoned  home  by  the  news 
of  Alexander's  invasion  of  his  father's  kingdom.  On  his  way 
thither  he  is  captured  by  pirates.  Escaping,  he  has  the 
good  fortune  to  save  the  life  of  the  king  of  Scythia.  His 
joy  in  this  act  is  short  lived,  however,  for  the  ungrateful  king, 
discovering  the  identity  of  his  rescuer,  throws  him  into  prison. 
Arsacomes,  an  unscrupulous  suitor,  abducts  Berenice.  Bere- 
nice escapes  and  is  recaptured  several  times;  finally  she  is 
rescued  by  Oroondates,  and  turned  over  to  Artaxerxes,  who 
has  in  the  meantime  been  released. 

THE  REMAINING  PLOTS 

The  Orontes-Thalestris  plot. — Supposedly  killed  in  the  fall 
of  a  bridge,  Orontes,  stimulated  by  the  picture  of  a  beautiful 
girl,  sets  out  to  find  her.  Disguised  as  a  woman  he  goes  to 
the  land  of  the  Amazons,  where  he  finds  in  Thalestris,  their 
queen,  the  object  of  his  search.  He  wins  her  friendship  but 
dares  not  reveal  his  passion.  One  day  as  Orontes,  tortured 
by  his  love  for  the  fair  Amazon,  lies  in  an  arbor  sobbing  out 
his  secret,  he  is  overheard  by  Thalestris  and  banished. 
Thalestris  hears  that  Orontes  is  dead,  and,  grief-stricken, 
bursts  into  a  declaration  of  her  love  for  him  within  his  hear- 
ing. He  discovers  himself  to  her  and  for  a  brief  space  they 
rejoice  in  each  other's  love.  Orontes  soon  goes  away  on  a 
defensive  expedition  and  while  absent  is  deceived  into  believ- 
ing Thalestris  false  to  him.  He  deserts  her  and  she  very 
naturally  is  furious.  They  meet  in  battle  before  the  walls 
of  Babylon.     Orontes  persistently  refuses  to  engage  against 


La  Calprenede's  Romances  7 

Thalestris  and  repeatedly  saves  her  life.  Finally  they  are 
reconciled. 

The  Barsina  plot. — Barsina,  a  Persian  lady  of  noble  rank, 
is  beloved  by  Memnon,  one  of  the  first  noblemen  of  the  king- 
dom, and  also  by  Oxyartes,  brother  to  the  king.  At  first 
friendly  toward  each  other,  the  two  suitors  gradually  drift 
into  strained  relations.  Memnon  refuses  to  fight  with 
Oxyartes  because  Oxyartes  is  the  king's  brother,  and  accord- 
ingly leaves  the  country,  resigning  his  claim  to  Barsina. 
Oxyartes  refuses  to  accept  this  sacrifice;  and  Memnon, 
returning,  marries  Barsina.  Memnon  shortly  after  his 
marriage  is  killed  in  battle,  and  Barsina  marries  Oxyartes. 

The  Theander-Alcione  plot. — The  happy  marriage  rela- 
tions of  Theander  and  Alcione  are  broken  up  by  the  mali- 
cious plottings  of  Bagistanes,  a  rich  uncle  of  Theander's,  ably 
assisted  by  Astiages,  Theander's  brother.  Both  Theander 
and  Alcione  stab  themselves.     Alcione  recovers. 

The  Hermione  plot. — In  love  with  Alexander,  whom  she 
has  never  seen,  Hermione  kills  her  wicked  husband  Spitamenes 
and  goes  to  Alexander's  camp.  Repulsed  by  Alexander, 
she  dons  armor  and  enters  battle.  Before  the  walls  of  Baby- 
lon she  receives  a  mortal  wound  from  the  hands  of  Demetrius. 
The  susceptible  Demetrius  falls  in  love  with  her. 

The  Deidamia  plot. — Deidamia  loses  her  lover  in  battle 
and  sees  her  father's  kingdom  ruined  by  rebellion.  Obeying 
an  oracle  she  comes  to  the  camp  of  Oroondates.  Here  she 
is  persistently  wooed  by  Demetrius  and  finally  yields  to  his 
suit. 

The  plot  structure.— Although,  because  of  the  introduction 
of  numerous  "histories"  the  romance  seems  to  cover  a  long 
period  of  time,  in  reality  it  extends  only  a  trifle  beyond  six 
weeks.  The  first  two  days,  largely  concerned  with  Oroon- 
dates' ''history,"  are  complete  in  Part  One;  the  third  day 


8  Herbert  Wynford  Hill 

carries  us  to  Part  Two,  Book  Three;  the  fourth  day,  to  Part 
Three;  the  fifth  day,  to  Part  Three,  Book  Three.  We  are 
now  informed  that  about  a  week  after  he  was  wounded 
Oroondates  recovers.  Five  days  after  his  recovery  Araxes 
goes  to  Babylon,  returning  four  days  later.  This  brings  us 
to  about  the  sixteenth  day.  Two  days  later  the  first  battle 
was  fought;  about  a  week  after  the  first,  the  second.  The 
siege  begins  two  days  after  the  second  battle  and  continues 
a  little  over  a  week  before  Oroondates  is  captured.  Nearly 
another  week  elapses  before  he  is  rescued.  This  makes  a 
total  of  about  six  weeks. 

Strangely  enough,  when  one  considers  the  length  of  the 
romance,  the  author  with  almost  Chaucerian  insistency 
informs  the  reader  that  he  intends  to  hurry  on;  that  the 
length  of  various  narrations  or  discourses  prevents  him  from 
recounting  them;  that  he  has  no  time  to  describe  this  place 
or  that  battle  or  ceremony.  The  inconsistency  between 
this  avowed  intention  and  the  performance  grew  out  of  his 
desire  to  round  the  story  to  completion  by  telling  the  histories 
of  all  his  important  characters.  Sometimes  this  interferes 
sadly  with  the  movement  of  the  main  action.  Thus  just 
before  the  capture  of  Oroondates,  which  is  one  of  the  climaxes 
of  the  story,  we  find  introduced  the  history  of  Barsina,  an 
account  which  has  little  or  no  bearing  on  the  main  plot  and 
which  seriously  clogs  the  machinery.  Nevertheless,  read 
leisurely  with  frequent  reference  to  the  preceding  threads 
of  plot,  the  romance  shapes  itself  definitely  into  a  fairly  well- 
organized  story. 

In  the  handling  of  the  sub-plots.  La  Calprenede  followed 
a  plan  which  he  developed  more  fully  in  his  later  romances. 
In  the  preceding  plot  analyses,  two  of  the  plots  have  been 
classified  as  duplicating  plots.  To  even  a  casual  reader  one 
of  the  most  noticeable  features  of  the  Cassandrais  the  frequent 


La  Calprenede's  Romances  9 

duplication  of  situations  and  incidents.  A  somewhat  closer 
examination  reveals  that  this  duplication  is  chiefly  confined 
to  the  three  plots  which  we  have  classified  respectively  as  the 
main  plot  and  the  two  duplicating  plots.  Furthermore, 
the  situation  or  incident  dupUcated  invariably  appears  in 
the  main  plot  although  not  always  in  both  of  the  sub-plots 
and  generally  before  its  appearance  in  either  of  the  two  sub- 
plots. In  other  words  it  seems  that  the  purpose  of  the  repeti- 
tion is  to  emphasize  the  incidents  and  situations  in  question. 
This  method  of  strengthening  the  main  plot  is  common 
enough  in  the  drama — ^witness  the  Gloucester  plot  in  King 
Lear — and  not  unknown  in  romance.  That  La  Calprenede 
employed  the  method  deliberately  seems  evident  enough. 
Oroondates,  for  instance,  interrupts  Lysimachus  in  the  midst 
of  the  relation  of  his  adventures  with  the  following  words '} 

Ah,  Lysimachus!  What  a  resemblance  our  misfortunes  have  to 
one  another. 

In  similar  vein  Artaxerxes  says:^ 

Was  not  Statira  Darius's  daughter,  and  was  not  Oroondates  the 
King  of  Scythia's  son  ?  Hast  thou  not  a  heart  as  well  as  he  ?  And 
canst  not  thou  attempt  that  for  his  Sister,  which  he  so  courageously 
hazarded  for  thine  ?  Thou  without  doubt  hast  f ecilities  in  thy  design, 
which  he  found  not  in  his;  his  Example  may  encourage  thee,  his 
proceeding  may  instruct  thee,  and  his  assistance  may  make  thee 
the  most  fortunate  above  all  men  living. 

Even  though  we  had  no  such  statements  as  these  of  the 
plan  of  the  author  the  nature  of  the  resemblance  itself  offers 
sufficient  evidence.  Let  us  compare  the  Lysimachus-Paris- 
atis  plot  with  the  main  plot.  In  each  the  hero  is  in  love  with 
a  mistress  who  has  married  a  rival.  In  each  the  rival  hus- 
band is  killed  and  the  heroine  is  subjected  to  a  mock  execu- 
tion which  is  thought  to  be  real  by  the  hero.     In  each  the 

1  p.  136.  2  p.  367. 


10  Herbert  Wynford  Hill 

heroine  is  discovered  to  be  alive  and  is  finally  joined  to  the 
hero  by  the  capture  of  Babylon. 

The  other  supporting  plot,  the  Artaxerxes-Berenice 
story,  duplicates  the  main  plot  even  more  closely.  The 
two  heroes  are  in  love  each  with  the  other's  sister.  They  are 
fast  friends.  To  phrase  it  a  little  more  fully,  each  is  in  love 
with  the  daughter  of  a  hostile  king  and  each  goes  in  disguise 
to  the  court  of  his  mistress.  Each  through  heroic  exploits 
wins  favor,  and  scorns  all  reward  save  the  hand  of  the  prin- 
cess. Each  saves  the  life  of  the  king.  Each  heroine  is  lost 
to  the  hero  through  revolution;  each  is  captured  by  the  hero, 
released,  and  later  captured  by  the  unscrupulous  rival. 
From  this  point  on,  the  events  which  bring  together  the  hero 
and  heroine  resemble  each  other  less  closely.  One  repeated 
incident,  however,  is  worthy  of  citation.  Each  hero,  in  turn, 
not  recognizing  the  other,  mistakes  demonstrations  with  the 
respective  princesses  of  brotherly  affection  for  the  accepted 
advances  of  a  rival  lover;  and  a  combat  ensues. 

Duplication  of  certain  features  of  the  main  plot  is  to  be 
found  outside  of  the  two  supporting  plots,  but  it  is  of  a  differ- 
ent nature.  The  principal  complicating  incident  of  the 
Orontes-Thalestris  plot,  for  instance,  is  like  an  incident  in 
the  main  plot.  The  heroine  is  deceived  through  a  letter 
into  the  belief  that  the  hero  is  false.  And,  to  take  another 
example,  just  as  Oroondates  comes  upon  Statira  asleep  in  a 
beautiful  spot,  so  Thalestris  comes  upon  Orontes,  not  once 
but  twice.  Neither  the  incident  nor  the  situation,  however, 
is  of  the  kind  to  warrant  any  claims  of  deliberate  imitation. 
Both  are  conventional,  appearing  time  and  again  in  the 
Cassandra  and  in  La  Calprenede's  other  romances. 

The  Deidamia  and  the  Hermione  stories  have  little  bear- 
ing on  the  main  plot.  They  are  loosely  related  to  each  other, 
through  Demetrius,  who  falls  in  love  with  each  lady  in  turn. 


La  Calprenede's  Romances  11 

Hermione,  it  will  be  remembered,  touches  the  main  plot 
through  her  relations  with  Alexander. 

The  stories  of  Barsina  and  Alcione  are  introduced  prin- 
cipally because  their  homes  are  the  meeting-places  for  the 
main  characters;  the  one  in  the  antecedent  action,  the  other 
in  the  direct  narration.  The  antecedent  action,  however, 
is  not  very  well  centered  geographically;  it  does  not  focus 
strongly  on  any  one  point.  The  direct  action,  on  the  other 
hand,  is  in  the  neighborhood  of  Babylon,  and  within  the  city 
itself.  The  house  of  Polemon,  the  father  of  Alcione,  is  the 
first  gathering-point.  Here  come  nearly  all  the  characters 
of  prominence  to  entertain  each  other  with  their  histories 
while  waiting  for  the  forces  to  mobilize  for  the  attack  on 
Babylon. 

In  Babylon  after  its  capture  the  heroes  receive  their  long- 
deferred  rewards.  At  this  point  the  author  takes  reluctant 
leave  of  his  gallant  heroes  and  fair  heroines,  not,  however, 
without  a  fleeting  glance  at  their  future. 

The  Design  [he  says]  to  which  I  regularly  enough  have 
tied  my  self  not  to  wander  from  the  Banks  of  the  Euphrates,  and 
the  Walls  of  Babylon,  hinders  me  from  following  my  Heroes  in 
their  Voyages:  I  will  not  therefore  relate  their  fortunate  successes; 
their  arrivals  in  their  kingdoms;  and  the  crowning  of  so  many 
Gallant  Princes,  who  established  a  brave  and  happy  Sovereignty, 
which  they  enjoyed  through  the  whole  course  of  very  long  and 
prosperous  Reigns.  You  may  learn  the  end  of  their  lives  from 
Historians  Famous  in  Antiquity,  who  have  written  them. 

THE  PLOT  OF  Cleopatra 

The  main  plot.^ — Coriolanus,  captured  when  an  infant 
and  deprived  of  his  parents  and  kingdom,  is  brought  by 
Augustus  Caesar  to  Rome,  where  he  is  reared  as  a  Roman 

1  The  account  of  the  Ufe  and  death  of  Queen  Cleopatra  and  of  the  birth 
of  her  daughter,  Cleopatra,  the  heroine  of  the  romance,  is  told  to  Tyridates 
by  a  servant  (pp.  36-48).     Emilius,  squire  to  Coriolanus,  recoimts  his  master's 


12  Herbekt  Wynford  Hill 

prince.  He  gets  a  glimpse  of  the  princess  Cleopatra,  led  a 
slave  in  the  triumphal  procession  celebrating  the  fall  of 
Alexandria,  and  falls  in  love.  Two  other  princes,  Marcellus 
and  Tiberius,  also  lose  their  hearts  to  this  most  remarkable 
ornament  of  her  sex.  Marcellus,  out  of  friendship  to  Corio- 
lanus,  withdraws  his  suit;  but  Tiberius,  through  malicious 
plottings,  drives  Coriolanus  from  Rome,  and  even  succeeds 
in  convincing  Cleopatra  that  Coriolanus  is  false  to  her.  Thus 
when  Coriolanus  returns  in  disguise  to  see  Cleopatra  he  is 
spurned  by  her.  He  leaves  Rome,  and  finally,  weary  and 
sick  at  heart,  reaches  a  point  near  Alexandria.  Cleopatra, 
voyaging  to  Alexandria,  is  cast  ashore  by  a  tempest. 

It  is  at  this  point  that  the  romance  opens.  Coriolanus, 
lying  down  to  rest,  is  aroused  by  a  great  noise  of  clashing 
arms.  Rushing  upon  the  scene  he  takes  the  side  of  the 
weaker  combatant  and  assists  him  to  escape.  While  Corio- 
lanus is  continuing  the  fight,  the  fugitive  returns  with  a  dozen 
or  so  followers  and  sets  upon  Coriolanus'  opponent.  Corio- 
lanus turns  his  sword  against  the  new  arrivals  and  helps  his 
late  opponent  drive  them  off.  He  now  discovers  that  the 
knight  to  whom  he  has  last  rendered  assistance  is  no  other 
than  the  famous  Caesario  and  that  the  band  they  have  just 
driven  off  is  that  of  the  notorious  pirate,  Zenodorus.^ 

adventures  to  Tyridates  (pp.  78-161).  Five  hundred  pages  farther  on  (pp. 
100-14  of  the  second  division  of  the  foho),  Cleopatra,  in  the  relation  of  her 
history  to  Artemissa,  brings  the  story  up  to  the  point  where  the  romance 
opens.  The  page  references  here  and  elsewhere  are  to  Loveday's  translation. 
The  title-page  of  this  edition  reads  as  follows: 

"Hymen's  Praeludia  or  Loves  Master-piece.  Being  that  so  much  admired 
Romance,  Intituled  Cleopatra.  In  Twelve  Parts.  Written  Originally  in 
the  French,  and  now  Elegantly  rendered  into  English.  By  Robert  Loveday. 
Evand. 

"Qui  magis  aptaret  Cleopatra  Parentibus  orta. 

"Conspicuis,  Comiti  quam  placuisse  Thori  ? 

"London,  Printed,  by  W.  R.  and  J.  R.  and  are  to  be  sold  by  Peter  Parker, 
at  his  Shop  at  the  Leg  and  Star  over  against  the  Royal  Exchange,  and  Thomas 
Guy,  at  the  Corner-shop  of  the  Little  Lumbard-street  and  Comhill,  1674." 

1  This  is  a  favorite  way  of  introducing  a  hero.  The  reader  will  recall 
that  in  this  way  Cassandra  opens. 


La  Calprenede's  Romances  13 

A  few  days  after  this  adventure,  Coriolanus  strolls  into 
a  solitary  grove  which  strongly  reminds  him  of  the  spot  on 
the  banks  of  the  Tiber  where  he  formerly  enjoyed  the  favor 
of  the  fair  Cleopatra.  Exhausted  by  grief,  he  falls  asleep 
along  the  luxuriant  bank  of  a  murmuring  brook  with  his 
head  at  the  foot  of  an  old  oak.  Here  he  is  discovered  by 
Cleopatra  and  Artemissa.  Cleopatra  wakens  him  and 
reproaches  him  with  infidelity.  While  he  is  attempting  to 
clear  himself  a  band  of  villains  dash  in  upon  them  and  carry 
off  the  two  princesses  in  spite  of  Coriolanus'  prodigious 
efforts  to  prevent  it.  After  various  other  adventures  the 
hero,  in  search  of  death,  leaps  from  a  horrible  cliff  into  the 
pitiless  waves.  By  rare  good  fortune  he  strikes  within 
reaching  distance  of  the  sailors  on  the  ship  in  which  Cleo- 
patra is  kept  prisoner  and  is  dragged  on  board.  He  pays  for 
his  rescue  by  saving  the  ship  from  capture  by  Cornelius, 
praetor  of  Alexandria.  His  identity  is  soon  discovered, 
however,  and  the  ship's  company,  at  the  command  of  one 
of  their  leaders,  turn  upon  their  deliverer.  Single-handed 
he  beats  them  off  until  a  ship  headed  by  two  of  his  friends, 
Marcellus  and  Alexander,  comes  to  his  rescue. 

Cleopatra  goes  to  Alexandria.  Here  Tiberius,  the  unscru- 
pulous rival,  urges  his  suit  and  finally  attempts  to  abduct 
the  heroine.  Coriolanus  in  checking  this  move  of  his  rival 
is  discovered  in  combat  with  him  and  thrown  into  prison  by 
the  emperor.  Cleopatra  is  ordered  by  the  emperor  to  marry 
Tiberius  if  she  wishes  to  save  the  life  of  Coriolanus.  While 
she  is  debating  the  matter,  through  a  revolt  headed  by 
Candace  ably  supported  by  Alexander,  Artaban,  and  other 
heroes,  Coriolanus  is  freed  from  prison.  Coriolanus  goes  to 
the  emperor  and  begs  the  privilege  of  dying  to  secure  pardon 
for  those  involved  in  the  revolt.  As  the  emperor  is  about 
to  grant  this  privilege,  Marcellus  rushes  before  Augustus 


14  Herbert  Wynford  Hill 

and  threatens  suicide  if  the  order  for  Coriolanus*  execution 
be  carried  out.  He  also  reveals  the  fact  that  the  emperor's 
life  has  been  saved  by  Coriolanus.  After  further  interces- 
sion Augustus  reluctantly  yields.  Cleopatra  is  given  to  the 
hero. 

Space  does  not  permit  the  analysis  of  all  the  sub-plots 
of  Cleopatra.  It  seems  necessary,  however,  to  present 
briefly  the  stories  of  the  two  duplicating  plots — the  Artaban- 
Elisa  plot,  and  the  Caesario-Candace  plot.  The  story  of 
Artaban  and  Elisa  is  the  most  typical  of  all  La  Calprenede's 
plots  in  its  structure  and  in  its  situations,  incidents, 
and  characters.  In  interest  it  surpasses  the  main  story  of 
the  romance. 

The  Artaban-Elisa  plot. — Artaban,  the  son  of  Pompey 
and  Cornelia,  after  disaster  has  overtaken  his  parents,  is 
brought  up  under  the  name  of  Britomarus,  by  Briton,  a 
soldier  formerly. in  Pompey' s  service.  He  goes  to  the  court 
of  Hidaspes,  king  of  Aethiopia.  Here  he  falls  in  love  with 
the  princess,  Candace,  and  this  results  in  his  banishment. 
He  next  appears  in  Arminia,  where,  having  erased  the  image 
of  the  fair  Candace  from  his  mind,  he  falls  in  love  with 
Arsinoe,  the  king's  sister.  He  is  scorned  because  of  his 
lowly  station  and  again  exiled.  He  now  becomes  a  great 
general  among  the  Medes  and  conquers  Phraates,  king  of 
the  Parthians.  Pursuing  the  defeated  army  to  the  frontier 
he  captures  EUsa,  the  king's  daughter,  and  her  mother. 
Artaban  quarrels  with  the  king  of  the  Medes  about  the  dis- 
position of  the  captives,  and  goes  over  to  the  side  of  Phraates. 
As  is  to  be  expected  the  tide  of  battle  now  turns  against  the 
Medes.  Pressed  to  accept  reward  for  his  services,  Artaban 
asks  the  hand  of  Elisa.  Elisa  is  not  only  refused  him  but 
is  commanded  to  marry  Tigranes,  the  two  kings  having  come 
to  an  agreement.     Artaban  leaves  the  kingdom,  but  drawn 


La  Calprenede's  Romances  15 

by  his  love,  returns  to  be  imprisoned.  He  is  now  put,  a 
prisoner,  on  board  a  ship  bound  for  the  court  of  Tigranes. 
The  ship  is  attacked  by  pirates  under  the  leadership  of 
Zenodorus,  and  Artaban  is  released  to  help  beat  them  off. 
Successful  at  first,  he  is  later  captured  by  the  pirates;  picking 
up  Zenodorus  he  leaps  with  him  in  his  arms  into  the  sea. 
Zenodorus  is  rescued;  but  to  all  appearances  Artaban  never 
rises,  an  occurrence  not  at  all  strange  when  it  is  remembered 
that  he  wore  a  full  suit  of  armor.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  how- 
ever, he  does  come  to*the  surface  and  with  the  help  of  a 
convenient  plank  keeps  afloat  until  he  is  picked  up  by  some 
fishermen.  He  straightway  sets  out  in  search  of  Elisa,  who, 
it  should  be  noted,  was  on  board  the  ship  captured  by  Zeno- 
dorus. In  the  meantime  Elisa  has  been  rescued  by  Cornelius 
and  taken  to  Alexandria. 

Near  the  tomb  of  Tyridates,  Artaban  and  Elisa  meet: 
the  rapturous  moment  is  disturbed  by  the  appearance  of 
Tigranes.  A  remarkable  combat  ensues  which  is  stopped 
by  Agrippa,  a  nobleman  of  Alexandria  who  has  fallen  in  love 
with  Elisa.  Arrived  within  the  city,  Artaban  has  the  pleas- 
ure of  seeing  his  three  mistresses  all  together.  Through  the 
influence  of  Tigranes  he  is  confined  a  prisoner  within  his  own 
lodgings.  A  new  factor  is  now  introduced  to  solve  the  com- 
plication. The  people  of  the  kingdom  of  Parthia,  having 
killed  their  king  in  an  insurrection,  clamor  for  Artaban  as 
their  ruler.  Artaban's  noble  birth  is  established  through 
a  medal  which  he  wears,  and  he  is  given  the  Parthian  king- 
dom and  the  hand  of  Elisa. ^ 

1  The  reader  is  kept  in  ignorance  of  the  real  identity  of  the  hero  until 
the  close.  The  incidents  in  the  past  life  of  Artaban  are  introduced  in  reverse 
order.  The  following  page  references  will  give  the  reader  some  idea  of  the 
complex  arrangement  of  the  story.  His  early  history  is  told  by  Briton, 
Division  Two,  pp.  520-75.  Artaban  disguised  as  Britomarus  tells  more  of  his 
history.  Division  Two,  pp.  505-508;  Division  Two,  pp.  365-86;  and  Division 
Two,  pp.  344-46.  EUsa  tells  her  history  to  Candace,  Division  One,  pp.  213-66. 
The  wife  of  Phraates  fills  in  the  rest.  Division  Two,  pp.  498-505. 


16  Herbert  Wynford  Hill 

The  Caesario-Candace  plot.^ — Caesario,  ''the  image  of  the 
great  Caesar  intermixed  with  some  ideas  of  Queen  Cleopatra/' 
the  son  of  this  glorious  pair,  goes,  after  the  fall  of  Alex- 
andria, to  the  court  of  Hidaspes,  king  of  the  Aethiopians. 
He  falls  in  love  with  Candace,  daughter  of  the  king.  On 
the  king's  death  Tyribasus,  a  base  rival  for  the  hand  of 
Candace,  gets  control  of  the  kingdom.  Caesario  helps 
Candace  to  escape  down  the  Nile.  He  opposes  in  battle 
Tyribasus,  and  defeated,  is  left  for  dead  on  the  field.  He 
recovers,  and  kills  Tyribasus.  Then  he  sets  out  in  search 
of  Candace.  Candace  has  not  voyaged  far  when  she  is 
captured  by  the  pirate  Zenodorus.  She  sets  fire  to  the  ship 
and  escapes  on  a  plank.  Her  rescue  from  the  waves  by 
Tyridates  marks  the  opening  of  the  romance. 

After  various  adventures,  Caesario  meets  Candace  in 
Alexandria.  Augustus,  hearing  of  Caesario's  presence  with- 
in the  city,  commands  his  imprisonment.  Candace  heads 
a  party  that  succeeds  in  rescuing  him.  They  are  reconciled 
with  Augustus. 

The  plan  of  the  plot  structure  of  Cleopatra  is  similar  to 
that  of  Cassandra.  The  last  two  plots  outlined  above  dupli- 
cate the  situations  and  incidents  of  the  first  plot;  the  resem- 
blances are  even  more  striking  than  in  the  case  of  the  earlier 
romance.  The  heroes  are  princes  without  parents,  home, 
or  kingdom.  They  fall  in  love  at  a  remarkably  early  age 
with  extremely  young  princesses. ^  They  become  knights- 
errant  and  determine  the  fates  of  kingdoms  with  a  breath. 
They  change  sides,  carrying  victory  wherever  they  go. 
Having  distinguished  themselves,  they  scorn  all  rewards 

1  The  antecedent  action  is  introduced  by  histories  told  to  Tjrridates  by 
Candace's  servant,  pp.  49-64;  by  Candace  herself,  pp.  172-212;  and  com- 
pleted by  Caesario's  relation  to  Candace,  Division  Two,  pp.  292-317. 

2  Cleopatra  and  Candace  are  ten  years  old  when  the  heroes  fall  in  love 
with  them.  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  this  is  about  the  age  when  the 
heroines  in  many  of  the  Greek  romances  faU  in  love. 


La  Calprenede's  Romances  17 

save  the  hands  of  their  fair  mistresses,  which  are  denied 
them.  Each  hero  loves  a  disdainful  mistress  who  has 
admirers  in  power;  he  is  loved  by  another  woman. ^  Corio- 
lanus  and  Caesario  visit  their  mistresses  in  disguise.  All 
are  now  separated  from  the  objects  of  their  devotion  and 
become  once  more  knights-errant.  They  unwittingly  fight 
against  their  dearest  friends,  assist  their  enemies,  and  per- 
sistently refuse  to  kill  the  man  who  in  each  case  blocks  the 
way  to  happiness.  Cleopatra  and  Candace  are  shipwrecked 
in  turn.  The  three  heroines  are  individually  and  repeatedly 
captured  by  pirates  or  unscrupulous  rivals;  and  as  a  master 
stroke  all  three  in  company  are  attacked  by  the  three  unscru- 
pulous rivals  and  rescued  with  the  greatest  difficulty  by  the 
three  noble  lovers.  From  this  point  to  the  happy  ending 
the  experiences  of  the  heroes  and  heroines  are  practically 
identical. 

Of  the  thirteen  remaining  plots  two  bear  directly  upon 
the  principal  plot  and  the  Artaban-EUsa  plot,  presenting  as 
they  do  two  rivals  of  the  heroes.  In  the  story  of  Marcellus 
and  Julia,  the  first  of  these  to  be  considered,  we  find  in  Mar- 
cellus the  type  of  the  generous  rival.  This  rival  is  unsel- 
fishly interested  in  Cleopatra's  happiness,  and  it  is  only 
through  a  mistaken  behef  as  to  the  hero's  loyalty  that  he 
is  brought  into  collusion  with  the  unscrupulous  rival  in  a 
plot  to  separate  Coriolanus  and  Cleopatra.  As  soon  as  he 
discovers  his  mistake  he  sets  about  helping  to  bring  them 
together,  and  at  the  close  is  the  one  most  infiuential  in  secur- 
ing from  Augustus  the  hero's  pardon.  The  marriage  between 
Marcellus  and  Julia  is  not  a  love  match.  Thus  throughout 
the  romance  Julia  is  free  to  complicate  the  plot  by  making 
love  to  Coriolanus,  Artaban,  Drusus,  and  other  less  promi- 

1  This  love  situation  is  too  conventional  to  serve  as  argument  by  itself. 
In  Cleopatra  it  is  repeated,  also,  in  the  stories  of  the  PhUadelph  and  Delia,  and 
Tyridates  and  Mariamne. 


18  Herbert  Wynford  Hill 

nent  heroes.  Media,  the  hero  of  the  second  of  the  two 
plots  under  consideration,  is  the  type  of  the  unscrupulous 
rival.  From  the  beginning  to  the  end  he  opposes  Arta- 
ban.  His  marriage  at  the  close  to  Urania  is  against  his  will, 
and  his  previous  relations  with  her  are  unimportant  com- 
pared with  his  relations  to  the  characters  of  the  Artaban- 
Ehsa  plot. 

The  Tyridates-Mariamne  plot  is  introduced  because  the 
house  of  Tyridates  serves  as  a  gathering-place  for  the  six 
principal  characters.  Furthermore,  as  uncle  to  Elisa  he  is 
entitled  to  a  hearing.  The  story  itself  is  not  interwoven 
with  any  of  the  other  stories,  but  in  its  nature  and  tone  fits 
well  into  the  romance.  There  are  two  other  plots  which 
touch  the  main  plot  rather  lightly;  they  are  hardly  more 
than  histories  told  for  the  entertainment  of  characters  in  the 
romance.  These  are  the  stories  of  Arminius-Isminia,  and 
Alcamenes-Menalippa.  La  Calprenede  does,  however,  join 
them  to  the  principal  story  after  a  fashion.  Isminia,  for 
instance,  serves  Julia  as  a  slave;  and  Arminius  is  brought 
into  the  main  thread  of  action  through  a  gladiatorial  combat. 
Furthermore,  Arminius  is  united  to  Isminia  in  Alexandria 
at  the  time  when  the  principal  characters  are  made  similarly 
happy.  Alcamenes  and  Menalippa  also  participate  in  this 
glorious  conclusion.  The  Alcamenes-Menalippa  story  may 
be  considered  a  minor  supporting  plot,  so  strong  is  the 
resemblance  of  Alcamenes'  adventures  to  those  of  the  chief 
heroes.  As  an  errant  knight  he  wins  in  disguise  fame  at  a 
foreign  court.  Menalippa  falls  in  love  with  him  as  he  lies 
asleep  by  a  babbling  brook  (cf.  Coriolanus  291,  and  Phila- 
delph  317,  506).  Denied  the  hand  of  the  princess  and 
banished,  he  goes  over  to  the  enemy,  carrying  victory  with 
him;  he  visits  his  beloved  in  disguise;  and  unwittingly  fights 
against  his  friends.     Like  the  Arminius-Isminia  plot,  the 


La  Calpeenede's  Romances  19 

story  centers  on  the  theme  of  a  hero  in  love  with  the  daughter 
of  a  hostile  king. 

Alexander  as  twin  brother  to  Cleopatra  is  given  an  impor- 
tant role.  He  not  only  has  a  history  of  his  own,  but  intro- 
duces another  family  whose  exploits  furnish  material  for  two 
other  plots.  All  three  plots  are  pretty  well  woven  into  the 
main  plot. 

Of  the  five  remaining  plots  four  are  introduced  to  round 
out  Cleopatra's  family  history,  and  the  fifth  properly  belongs 
to  the  Philadelph-Delia  story.  These  are  all  brief  and  not 
very  fully  developed. 

In  spite  of  the  complicated  structure  of  the  Cleopatra, 
the  careful  reader  will  find  numerous  hints  to  guide  him 
through  the  labyrinth  of  plot.  In  the  latter  part,  frequent 
references  are  made  to  past  incidents;  some  incidents  are 
told  again  from  a  new  view-point;  others  are  discussed  and 
explained. 

Although  one  finishes  the  romance  with  the  impression 
that  the  story  covers  a  long  period  of  time,  in  reality  the 
main  action  up  to  the  point  where  Coriolanus  is  imprisoned 
in  Alexandria,  within  a  hundred  pages  of  the  close,  covers 
less  than  a  week.  La  Calprenede  must  have  taken  consider- 
able pains  to  get  his  characters  into  Alexandria  in  so  short 
a  space  of  time;  but  from  this  point  on,  when  everything  is 
in  shape  for  a  rapid,  brilliant  conclusion,  he  loiters  around 
in  an  exasperating  way.  It  is  well-nigh  impossible  to  deter- 
mine accurately  the  period  of  time  included  between  Corio- 
lanus' imprisonment  and  the  happy  ending;  it  certainly 
extends  beyond  a  week,  possibly  it  covers  two.  Even  though 
three  weeks  be  taken  as  the  total  period,  Cleopatra  still  has 
greater  compression  than  Cassandra.  Cassandra  with  half 
the  number  of  plots  covers  twice  as  long  a  period.  The 
"histories"  introducing  the  antecedent  action  of  Cleopatra 


20  Herbert  Wynford  Hill 

are  much  better  handled  than  those  of  Cassandra.  La  Cal- 
prenede  probably  felt  the  necessity  of  greater  care  in  the 
handling  of  a  greater  number  of  plots.  Possibly,  too,  he 
had  gained  better  control  of  the  method  employed.  The 
indirect  narration  focuses  on  one  geographical  point.  The 
direct  narration  in  each  romance  focuses  first  on  a  point  near 
a  large  city  and  then  shifts  to  the  city  itself. 

A  comparison  of  the  situations  and  incidents  of  Cassandra 
and  Cleopatra  reveals  some  interesting  facts.  The  central 
situation  in  each  is  much  the  same;  and  yet  there  is  an  essen- 
tial difference,  a  difference  that  vitally  distinguishes  the  two 
romances.  Let  us  review  the  two  situations.  In  Cleopatra  the 
hero  is  in  love  with  a  princess,  is  loved  by  another  woman, 
and  contends  against  a  rival  more  powerful  at  court  than 
himself.  In  Cassandra  the  hero  is  in  love  with  a  princess, 
is  loved  by  another  woman,  and  contends  against  a  rival 
more  powerful,  not  at  court,  but  on  the  battlefield.  Alex- 
ander, the  rival  in  Cassandra,  captures  the  kingdom  and 
marries  the  heroine.  The  rival  in  Cleopatra  opposes  the 
hero  through  influence  at  court.  The  fundamental  difference 
between  the  two  romances  becomes  more  evident  if  the  main 
situation  in  Cassandra  be  stated  in  a  different  way.  The 
hero  in  disguise  wins  favor  in  a  foreign  court  through  exploits 
in  war;  he  falls  in  love  with  the  king's  daughter  and  refuses 
all  rewards  save  her  hand,  which  is  denied  him.  Up  to  this 
point  the  situation  is  closely  paralleled  by  that  of  Corio- 
lanus  in  Cleopatra.  Here,  however,  the  resemblance  stops. 
Oroondates,  the  hero  in  Cassandra,  is  deprived  of  his  mistress 
by  a  world  conqueror;  Coriolanus  contends  aganst  a  court 
favorite.  Oroondates  marshals  a  great  army  to  capture  Baby- 
lon, and  so  wins  his  mistress;  Coriolanus  wins  his  mistress 
by  bringing  the  emperor  over  to  his  side. 

Contrary  to  what  might  be  expected,  with  a  shifting  of 


La  Calprenede's  Romances  21 

the  issue  from  the  battlefield  to  the  drawing-room,  women 
take  a  less  active  part  in  Cleopatra  than  in  the  earlier  romance. 
Cassandra  is  deceived  into  believing  the  hero  false  through 
the  woman  in  love  with  the  hero;  Cleopatra,  through  the  man 
in  love  with  herself.  In  the  sub-plots  of  Cassandra  also  the 
women  are  more  aggressive.  It  is  interesting  to  note  that 
these  women  are  all  widows,  as  of  course  is  the  heroine.  In 
Cleopatra  no  widow  has  an  important  role,  and  the  heroines 
are  for  the  most  part  only  the  glorious  prizes  to  be  appor- 
tioned  at  the  close. 

In  line  with  the  more  subtle  handling  of  the  issues  at 
stake,  we  find  in  Cleopatra  less  frequent  use  of  the  super- 
natural to  foreshadow  or  advance  the  plot.  In  the  earlier 
romance,  at  least  five  of  the  principal  characters  are  retained 
on  the  banks  of  the  Euphrates  or  brought  there  through 
oracles;  and  a  sixth  is  sent  thither  by  a  vision.  In  fact 
Artaxerxes  is  the  only  hero  of  note  who  finds  his  way  natur- 
ally to  the  scene  of  action.  In  Cleopatra,  the  characters  all 
arrive  at  Babylon  in  the  natural  course  of  their  adventures; 
at  no  point  are  they  directed  by  supernatural  agency.^  Not 
until  the  close  is  the  supernatural  introduced.  Tiberius  is 
at  last  discouraged  from  his  designs  on  Cleopatra  by  the 
prophecy  of  Thrasyllus;  and  Augustus  is  encouraged  to 
repentance  by  the  appearance  of  Caesar's  ghost.  This 
decrease  in  the  use  of  the  supernatural  is  to  be  noted  also 
in  the  minor  features  such  as  omens,  miraculous  herbs  for 
healing,  potions,  and  the  like. 

Cleopatra  shows  a  marked  increase  in  direct  narration. 
Hardly  a  third  of  Cassandra  is  direct  narration,  twenty-two 
per  cent,  to  be  exact;  while  forty-nine  per  cent  of  Cleopatra 
is  direct  narration,  and  this,  too,  in  spite  of  the  presence  of 

1  In  the  story  of  Alcamenes  and  Menalippa,  one  of  the  subordinate  plots 
of  Cleopatra,  an  oracle  is  introduced,  but  in  no  vital  way  does  it  affect  the  plot. 


22  Herbert  Wynford  Hill 

three  times  as  many  sub-plots  where  the  percentage  of 
indirect  narration  is  naturally  high.  The  main  plot  runs 
sixty-eight  per  cent  of  direct  narration,  a  high  proportion 
for  a  heroic  romance.^ 

In  other  ways  the  plot  is  lightened  and  the  movement 
made  more  rapid;  the  speeches  are  shorter;  there  are  fewer 
soliloquies;  letters  are  less  frequently  introduced;  and  there 
is  a  decrease  in  the  length  and  number  of  descriptions.  In 
Cassandra  La  Calprenede  exhibits  an  especial  fondness  for 
descriptions  of  armies;  he  rarely  passes  an  opportunity  for  de- 
scribing the  marshaling  of  forces,  and  military  maneuvers;  if 
he  does  forego  the  indulgence  it  is  with  a  sigh  and  an  apology. 
There  is  little  of  this  in  Cleopatra.  In  his  earlier  work  he  felt 
the  need  of  hurrying  on;  there  is  hardly  a  page  that  does  not 
express  the  desire,  but  he  had  not  learned  how.  In  the  later 
romance  he  had  learned  how,  and  he  felt  less  trammeled  by 
the  conventions  of  heroic  romance.  The  plot  marches  for- 
ward more  gracefully,  more  rapidly,  and  more  inevitably. 

THE  SOURCES  OF  THE  PLOTS  OF  Cassandra  AND  Cleopatra 
At  this  point  it  is  not  proposed  to  go  into  a  full  discussion 
of  the  historical  sources  of  the  romance.^     The  most  impor- 

1  In  Clelia  one  of  the  characters  is  made  to  say  {Clelia,  p.  140,  ed.  of  1678. 
London  printed  and  to  be  sold  by  H.  Herringman,  D.  Newman,  T.  Cockerel, 
S.  Heyrick,  W.  Cadman,  S.  Laundes,  G.  Marriot,  W.  Croak,  and  C.  Smith): 

"I  did  not  love  to  be  my  own  Historian,  and  I  must  tell  you  again,  that 
I  never  will,  and  that  those  who  will  write  such  Books  as  that  famous  blind 
man  did,  whose  works  all  Greece  adores,  must  always  introduce  some  persons 
to  tell  the  adventures  of  others.  For  then  the  Relator  commends  or  con- 
demns those  of  whom  he  speaks  according  to  their  merit.  They  will  impar- 
tially describe  the  persons  whom  they  do  introduce,  they  will  descant  upon 
things  and  mingle  their  own  thoughts  with  theirs;  but  when  any  are  their 
own  Historians,  all  that  they  shall  say  in  their  own  advantage  is  suspected; 
and  it  is  so  diflflcult  to  do,  that  if  it  be  a  woman  who  teUs  her  own  tale,  she 
cannot  handsomely  say,  I  made  him  in  love  with  me;  and  if  it  be  a  man,  he 
cannot  well  say,  that  he  was  loved,  or  that  he  was  valiant;  and  therefore  it 
is  a  thousand  times  better  to  have  the  story  told  in  the  third  person  than  in 
the  first,"  etc. 

2  Wherever  the  plot  of  a  play  has  been  drawn  from  the  romance,  the 
sources  of  the  romance  have  been  examined  to  determine  the  exact  indebted- 
ness of  the  play  to  the  sources  as  well  as  to  the  romance. 


La  Calprenede^s  Romances  23 

tant  will  be  noted,  however,  with  the  special  view  of  deter- 
mining La  Calprenede's  dependence  on  these  sources.  La 
Calprenede  states  very  clearly  his  attitude  toward  his  mate- 
rial in  the  preface  to  Part  III  of  the  romance,  where  he 
addresses  Cassandra  in  the  following  words  :^ 

Take  care  also,  if  you  please,  to  excuse  me  to  her;  and  if  she 
think  it  strange,  that  having  kept  myself  hitherto  enough  within 
probability,  I  take  a  little  liberty  in  the  description  of  some  particu- 
lar actions,  and  that  instead  of  following  the  manner  of  writing 
us^  by  Plutarch,  Quintus  Curtius,  Justin,  and  other  Authors 
from  whom  I  have  drawn  the  foundations  of  your  History,  I  make 
my  Heroes  march  into  the  fight,  in  a  way  somewhat  nearer  to  that 
of  Homer,  Virgil,  Tasso,  and  other  writers  of  that  nature,  who  have 
beautified  the  truth  with  some  ornaments,  rather  more  pleasing 
than  confined  to  a  strict  and  regular  liklihood;  say  for  my  defence, 
that  having  for  your  quarrel  assembled  so  many  great  men,  famous 
in  Antiquity,  and  renowned  amongst  all  the  Authours  that  have 
written  the  History  of  their  age,  I,  in  favour  of  them,  have  exempted 
my  self  from  that  severity,  and  believ'd  that  in  taking  a  diversion 
by  that  kind  of  recital,  I  might  represent  some  particulars  of  that 
vaUant  Dame,  who  hath  made  them  known  to  the  whole  earth. 
Moreover,  our  narration  is  much  more  fixt  upon  the  especial  actions 
of  our  Heroes,  than  upon  those  of  whole  nations;  and  we  much 
rather  seek  the  reputation  of  Oroondates  and  Arsaces,  than  that 
of  the  Medes,  Persians,  and  Macedonians  in  general,  but  yet 
without  making  them  remarkable  by  impossible  actions,  or  extrava- 
gant inventions. 

In  an  address  to  the  reader  appended  to  the  fifth  and  last 
part  of  the  romance,  La  Calprenede  discusses  more  specifi- 
cally his  departure  from  historical  fact. 

You  will  have  the  patience  I  hope  to  read  these  few  Lines  I 
am  obhged  to  add,  that  I  may  justify  part  of  those  things  which 
I  have  written.  I  have  been  bound  up  in  many  Passages  of  this 
Conclusion  by  the  truth  of  History,  though  perhaps  I  have  altered 
it  in  some  places,  where  it  is  least  known.     If  I  make  Statira  and 

1  p.  237. 


24  Herbert  Wynford  Hill 

her  Sister  live  again  contrary  to  the  report  of  Plutarch,  who  says 
she  was  killed  by  Roxana's  cruelty;  I  have  followed  the  Opinion 
of  many  Historians,  and  I  make  her  pass  the  rest  of  her  life  in 
countries  very  remote  from  those  where  she  spent  her  younger 
years,  and  under  a  different  name  from  that  by  which  she  was  known 
to  Plutarch.  I  well  might  give  Darius  a  son  without  contradicting 
the  Historians  that  write  of  Alexander,  who  only  mention  his 
Daughters;  I  make  him  dead  in  the  opinion  of  the  World  before 
Alexander  entered  upon  his  Father's  Territories,  he  comes  thither 
no  more  till  after  his  death,  and  therefore  those  Authors  might 
well  have  been  ignorant  of  Artaxerxes  his  life,  he  having  pagsed 
it  in  very  far  Countries,  and  under  another  name,  after  he 
had  lost  it  in  the  general  beUef.  I  with  the  same  licence  might 
make  him  to  be  the  Great  Arsaces,  who  founded  the  Empire  of 
the  Parthians:  and  Historians  not  having  given  him  any  certain 
birth,  have  afforded  me  the  liberty  to  make  him  be  born  of  Darius: 
I  should  undoubtedly  have  made  him  recover  his  Father's  Empire, 
if  I  could  have  done  it  without  falsifying  truths  which  are  known 
to  all  the  World,  and  which  have  left  me  a  free  disposing  of  my 
Adventures:  I  should  have  changed  something  in  the  destiny  of 
Roxana  and  Cassander,  if  I  might  have  been  permitted,  and  if 
I  had  pardoned  Roxana,  in  consideration  of  her  sex,  I  should  have 
killed  Cassander  to  shew  the  punishment  of  Vice,  as  well  as  the 
recompense  of  Vertue;  but  the  rest  of  his  life  was  too  well  known 
by  his  Crimes,  and  by  his  ruhng  in  Greece.  I  have  been  freer  in 
those  of  Perdiccas  and  his  Brother;  'tis  certain  they  were  slain 
within  a  while  after  Alexander's  death,  by  a  Sedition  amongst 
their  Forces,  and  there  is  so  little  spoken  of  the  particulars  of  their 
death,  that  I  believed  I  might  lawfully  frame  it  to  my  History. 

This  idea  of  introducing  events  that  seem  probable  La 
Calprenede  evidently  kept  constantly  before  him.  He  had 
already  advanced  it  in  his  preface  to  Part  II  (p.  116) : 

I  think  nevertheless,  though  other  beauties  be  wanting  in  it, 
one  shall  at  least  find  few  things  that  thwart  either  probabihty  or 
decency;  nay,  to  that  degree,  that  I  find  most  difficulty  to  accom- 
modate those  passages  to  a  liklihood,  which  are  really  in  History. 
Methinks  it  does  not  ill  mingled  with  Romance;   and  of  those 


La  Calprenede's  Romances  25 

accidents  that  are  feign'd,  there  are  not  many  in  which  I  could  be 
contradicted,  if  I  would  make  them  pass  for  true. 

And  again  in  the  letter  to  Calista  prefaced  to  Part  IV 
(p.342):i 

If  all  the  adventures  of  it  are  not  equal,  and  if  you  find  some 
places  in  them  not  so  strong,  nor  so  diverting  as  others,  you  will  be 
pleased  to  consider,  that  my  invention  has  not  had  an  entire 
liberty,  and  that  it  has  been  rack'd  by  Chronology,  by  the  truth 
of  the  History,  and  by  those  things  I  had  already  written;  and  in 
short,  that  I  have  been  put  to  it,  as  many  others  would  have  been, 
to  make  Darius  his  son  passe  his  time  handsomely  in  Scythia, 
whilst  his  country  was  laid  desolate,  and  his  father  deprived  of 
his  Empire,  and  of  his  life,  by  Alexander's  victorious  forces.  Yet 
in  this  encounter,  and  in  many  others,  which  truly  have  kept  me 
in  troublesome  constraint,  I  have  stuck  to  probabihty  as  much  as 
I  possibly  could,  and  have  made  up  a  story  which  in  mine  own 
opinion  is  not  the  most  defective  of  this  piece. 

The  historians  quoted  are  the  ones  to  whom  he  is  most 
indebted — Plutarch,  Justin,^  and  Quintus  Curtius.^  From 
all  of  these  he  drew  numerous  details.  He  is  especially 
indebted  to  Justin  for  the  remarkable  combat  between 
Lysimachus  and  the  lion;  and  to  Quintus  Curtius  for  the 
account  of  the  defeat  of  Darius  at  the  hands  of  Alexander. 

In  Cleopatra  La  Calprenede  is  little  hampered  by  the 
historical  sources,  nor  does  he  depend  on  them  to  any  con- 
siderable extent  for  his  phrasing.  Robert  Loveday  in  the 
preface  to  his  translation  (ed.  of  1674)  writes: 

If  thou  beest  an  Historian,  thou  wilt  trace  his  ingenius  Pen 
through  Tacitus,  Florus,  Suetonius,  and  others  that  wrote  Augustus 
life,  and  find  with  what  skilful  method  he  hath  culled  such  Flowers 
from  each  of  their  Gardens,  as  was  fittest  to  beautifie  his  Garland. 

But  the  quantity  of  flowers  so  culled  is  almost  inconsider- 
able.   Another  historical  source  that  might  be  mentioned 

1  Lit.  transl.  of  preface,  Tome  7,  Partie  4,  Livre  I,  ed.  of  1645. 

2  Translated  into  French  in  1616.  3  Translated  into  French  in  1653. 


26  Herbert  Wynford  Hill 

in  passing  is  Flavins  Josephus,  from  whom  he  took  many 
details  in  the  story  of  Tyridates  and  Mariamne.^ 

The  situations  and  incidents  of  Cassandra  were  not  drawn 
to  any  considerable  extent  from  the  Greek  romances;  in  fact 
the  only  incident  of  much  importance  to  be  so  derived  is 
that  of  the  execution  of  slaves  in  the  place  of  the  heroine  and 
her  sister  {Cassandra,  p.  243).  In  Tatius^  a  slave  is  executed 
in  the  heroine's  place  to  deceive  the  hero  and  at  another  time 
the  hero  sees  the  heroine  apparently  killed.^ 

In  Cleopatra,  however,  there  are  numerous  parallels  to 
situations  and  incidents  of  the  Greek  romances.  The  hero- 
ine is  frequently  shipwrecked  {Cleopatra,  Part  I,  pp.  211, 
473,  523;  Part  II,  pp.  114,  344,  523:  and  compare  with  Helio- 
dorus,^  136;  Tatius,  402,  etc.).  She  is  captured  by  pirates 
{Cleopatra,  Part  I,  pp.  75,  206;  Part  II,  pp.  53,  258;  Helio- 
dorus,  p.  17;  Longus  Daphnis  &  Chloe  (Bohn  ed.),  p.  281; 
Tatius,  p.  440,  etc.).  The  hero  and  the  heroine  fall  in  love 
at  an  extremely  early  age.  In  Cleopatra  the  most  remark- 
able example  of  this  precocity  is  that  of  Alexander  and  Arte- 
missa,  aged  ten  and  eight  years  respectively,  who  fall  seriously 
in  love  and  converse  in  the  most  approved  heroic  style  (cf . 
pp.  274,  Daphnis  &  Chloe,  p.  267,  and  Clitopho  and  Leu- 
dppe,  p.  355).  The  heroine  is  sold  as  a  slave  {Cleopatra,  Part 
II,  p.  54 ;  Clitopho  and  Leucippe,  p.  450) .  A  brother  attempts 
to  seduce  the  heroine  {Cleopatra,  Part  I,  p.  467;  Clitopho 
and  Leucippe,  463,  where  at  the  beginning  of  the  romance 
the  hero  is  engaged  to  his  half-sister).  The  story  of  Cae- 
sario-Candace  in  the  Cleopatra  has  borrowed  many  details 
from  the  Aethiopian  History  of  HeUodorus.  In  both,  the 
hero,  a  visitor,  falls  in  love  with  the  daughter  of  Hidaspes, 

1  Cf.  The  Jewish  War,  Book  I,  chap.  xxii. 

2  The  Loves  of  Clitopho  and  Leucippe  (Bohn  ed.,  1855),  p.  440. 

3  P.  410.    Sidney  uses  the  incident  in  his  Arcadia. 

4  An  Aethiopian  History  (Tudor  transl.). 


La  Calprenede's  Romances  27 

king  of  Aethiopia.  This  daughter  is  miraculously  white. 
The  hero  and  heroine  travel  from  the  kingdom  into  a  series 
of  wonderful  adventures:  they  are  captured  repeatedly, 
together  and  separately,  by  pirates  and  rivals;  they  are  ship- 
wrecked. The  pirate  chief  falls  in  love  with  the  heroine; 
the  heroine  is  loved  by  the  Roman  praetor  and  by  a  native 
Aethiopian  of  obscure  birth.  The  hero  is  loved  by  an 
unscrupulous  woman  in  power.  The  force  of  these  resem- 
blances is  strengthened  by4)he  similarity  in  the  accounts  of 
the  great  wealth  at  the  Aethiopian  court;  in  the  introduction 
of  the  scene  on  the  battlefield  at  night  where  the  woman 
weeps  over  the  body  of  a  dear  one ;  and  by  the  names  common 
to  Heliodorus  and  La  Calprenede  of  Oroondates,  Hidaspes, 
Alcamenes,  and  Arsace.^ 

The  Arthurian  romances  furnished  La  Calprenede  with 
very  few  situations  and  incidents.  The  use  of  disguise,  the 
introduction  of  tournaments,  scorn  of  wealth,  banishment, 
imprisonment,  rescue  of  heroine  from  rivals,  are  of  course 
conventional  with  the  Arthurian  romances.  Artaban's 
shifting  from  side  to  side  carrying  victory  with  him  is  paral- 
leled frequently  (cf.  Launcelot).  The  incident  where  Oroon- 
dates, by  donning  the  armor  of  a  knight  whom  he  has  slain, 
lures  on  an  enemy  to  his  death  has  a  parallel  in  Libeaus  Des- 
conus,  and  The  Faerie  Queene. 

The  later  romances  furnished  very  little  in  the  way  of 
incident  or  situation.  There  are,  however,  numerous  paral- 
lels; and  in  some  cases  evidence  of  relationship  is  unmistak- 
able. Barclay's  Argenis  suggested  the  story  of  Orontes  and 
Thalestris.2     In  Primaleon  of  Greece  there  are  two  situations 

1  Not  all  of  these  are  used  in  the  Caesario  story  but  are  found  elsewhere 
in  La  Calprenede's  romances. 

2  Cf.  Cassandra,  pp.  164,  for  La  CalprenMe's  version;  and,  for  Barclay's 
presentation,  the  story  of  Theocrine,  Argenis,  Book  III,  chaps.  viii+.  The 
Argenis  was  first  published  in  Latin  in  1621.     Other  editions  appeared  in 


28  Herbert  Wynford  Hill 

parallel  to  situations  in  Cassandra  and  Cleopatra:  one  where 
Edward  turns  gardener  in  order  to  be  near  his  mistress/  and 
another  where  the  hero  is  made  to  challenge  himself  to  a 
combat.  2 

THE  STYLE  OF  Cassaudra  and  Cleopatra 

Cassandra. — In  an  address  to  the  reader  prefacing  the 
second  part  of  Cassandra,  La  Calprenede  writes  (p.  116)  :^ 

As  for  other  matters,  seek  neither  for  Science,  nor  for  fine 
Discourse,  perchance  thou  shalt  find  neither  in  this  Piece;  and  I 
may  say  unfeignedly,  it  is  written  with  too  little  pains,  or  rather 
with  too  little  care,  to  hope  for  anything  studyed,  or  delicate  in  it. 
In  what  I  write  (after  my  obedience  to  an  absolute  command)  my 
only  aim  is  to  divert  myself;  and  I  find  no  other  advantage  in 
this  employment,  and  I  am  very  far  from  pretending  glory  from 
a  thing  which  I  have  not  own'd,  and  which  I  will  forsake  when  I 
can  no  longer  disavow  it. 

A  modern  reader  certainly  would  be  justified  in  consider- 
ing these  remarks  as  merely  a  display  of  becoming  modesty. 
To  one,  however,  acquainted  with  the  fine  style  of  Mile 
Scudery,  they  have  some  point.     In  Clelia^  we  find  her 

1622,  1627,  1630,  1634,  1642,  1655,  1659  (two  eds.),  1664  (two  eds.),  1671. 
1673.  It  was  translated  into  English — the  prose  by  R.  Le  Grys,  the  verses  by 
F.  L.  May — in  1629;  and  again,  this  time  by  Kingsmill  Long,  in  1636,  an  edi- 
tion "beautified  with  Pictures  Together  with  a  Key  to  unlock  the  whole 
story";  and  again  in  1772  by  "a  Lady."  It  was  translated  into  Italian  in 
1629,  into  French  in  1632,  1732;  and  into  German  in  1644  and  1770. 

1  Primaleon,  pp.  77;    Cassandra,  pp.  58. 

2  Primaleon,  pp.  188;  Cleopatra,  Part  II,  pp.  151.  The  edition  of  Prima- 
leon referred  to  is  that  of  1619.     The  title-page  reads  as  follows: 

"The  Famous  and  renowned  history  of  Primaleon  of  Greece  Sonne  to  the 
great  and  mighty  Prince  Palmerin  d'Olivia,  Emperor  of  Constantinople 
Describing  his  Kjiightly  deeds  of  Arms,  as  also  the  memorable  adventures  of 
Prince  Edward  of  England;  and  continuing  the  former  history  of  Palmendos, 
brother  to  the  fortunate  Prince  Primaleon  «&.  The  First  Book  translated  out 
of  French  &  Italian  into  EngUsh  by  A.  M,  London  1619." 

3  Literal  translation  of  preface  of  French  ed.  of  1644,  Tome  3,  Partie  II, 
Livre  I.  This  preface  is  cut  at  the  beginning,  but  in  the  passage  quoted  the 
translation  is  faithful. 

4  Part  IV,  Book  II,  p.  541,  ed.  of  1678. 


La  Calprenede's  Romances  29 

theory  of  how  a  heroic  romance  should  be  written.     One  of 
the  characters  (Plotina)  speaks:        * 

Were  I  to  invent  a  History,  I  think  I  should  make  things  much 
more  perfect  than  they  are.  All  Women  should  be  admirably  fair, 
and  all  Men  should  be  as  valiant  as  Hector,  all  my  Heroes  should 
slay  at  least  a  hundred  men  in  every  battel,  I  would  build  Palaces 
of  precious  stones,  I  would  make  Prodigies  fall  out  every  moment, 
and  without  troubling  myself  to  invent  with  judgment,  I  should 
suffer  my  fancy  to  act  as  it  pleased;  so  that  seeking  out  only 
surprising  events,  without  examining,  whether  they  were  consistent 
to  reason  or  no,  I  should  certainly  make  very  extraordinary  things; 
a  continual  Shipwracks,  burning  of  Bities,'  and  a  thousand  like 
other  accidents,  which  occasion  handsome  lamentations  and  descrip- 
tions. 

To  which  Anacrion  replies — 

Should  you  invent  a  History  after  the  manner  you  speak  of, 
amiable  Plotina,  (said  he) you  would  do  a  thing  no  doubt  sufficiently 
strange;  for  with  rare  Events,  wonderful  Descriptions,  heroical 
Actions,  extraordinary  Matters,  and  Palaces  of  Precious  Stones, 
you  would  make  one  of  the  lewdest  Fables  than  can  be  possibly 
invented;  there  being  without  doubt  nothing  worse,  than  to  see 
things  of  this  nature  made  without  order  and  reason  ....  when 
you  invent  a  Fable,  your  purpose  is  to  be  believ'd,  and  the  true  art 
of  Fiction  is  handsomely  to  resemble  truth,  etc. 

And  another  speaker  (Hermineus)  says — 

And  as  diversity  or  variety  is  the  Soul  of  the  World,  he  ought  to 
take  heed  of  making  all  men  Heroes,  all  Women  equally  fair,  the 
dispositions  and  humors  of  all  particular  persons  ahke  and  cor- 
respondent, and  Love,  Anger,  Jealousie,  Hatred,  to  produce  always 
the  same  effects.  On  the  contrary,  he  must  imitate  that  admirable 
variety,  which  is  seen  in  all  men,  according  to  the  example  of 
Homer. 

Anacrion  further  says  (p.  542),  speaking  of  historical 
romances : 

For  when  names  of  Countreys  are  employed,  which  all  the 
world  hears  of,  and  wherewith  Geography  is  exactly  acquainted; 

1  Evidently  misprint  for  Cities. 


30  Herbert  Wynford  Hill 

and  when  great  events  are  made  use  of,  which  are  sufficiently 
known,  the  mind  is  wholly  disposed  to  suffer  itself  to  be  seduc'd, 
and  to  receive  the  fiction  together  with  the  truth,  provided  it  be 
handsomely  interwoven,  and  the  Writer  take  pains  to  study  the 
Age  well  he  makes  choice  of,  to  improve  all  the  rarities  of  it,  and 
to  conform  to  the  customs  of  places  he  treats  of,  not  to  mention 
Laurels  in  Countreys  where  there  was  never  any  seen,  not  to  con- 
found the  Religions  or  Customs  of  Nations  that  are  to  be  introduc'd; 
though  they  may  with  judgment  be  a  little  drawn  to  the  usage  of 
the  present  age,  to  the  end  they  be  more  delightful;  I  am  confident 
if  this  be  observ'd,  and  they  which  are  introduc'd  in  a  Fable  of 
this  nature,  speak  well,  the  passions  be  well  pointed  out,  the 
adventures  be  natural  and  prudently  invented,  all  the  little  matter 
which  discover  the  bottom  of  mens  hearts,  be  pertinently  plac'd; 
Vice  be  blam'd.  Virtue  rewarded,  and  Variety  dispers'd  through 
the  whole,  without  confusion,  if  the  fancy  be  always  subject  to 
the  judgment,  extraordinary  events  be  rationally  grounded;  if 
there  be  knowledge,  without  affectation,  defight,  ornament,  and 
pleasantness,  wherever  it  is  necessary;  if  the  style  be  neither  too 
high  nor  too  low,  and  no  violence  offer'd  to  decency  and  good 
manners;  I  am  confident,  I  say,  such  a  Work  will  please  all  that 
read  it,  be  more  delightful  to  them  than  a  History,  and  withal  be 
more  profitable. 

No  one  can  read  a  page  of  Mile  Scud^ry's  romance  with- 
out feeling  a  constant  straining  after  the  effects  described 
above.  Far  more  stress  is  laid  on  the  delicate  phrasing  of 
polite  conversatiorh  or  love  letters,  or  on  the  devising  of 
ingenious  details  for  embroidering  the  narration,  than  on 
the  effective  advancement  of  the  story  itself.  The  plot 
serves  primarily  to  bring  together  models  of  stilted  conver- 
sation, artificial  letters  and  verses,  and  ingenious  methods 
of  social  diversion. 

Compared  to  Mile  Scudery,  surely  La  Calprenede  may 
lay  claim  to  a  simple  style.  Read  in  time  of  leisure  when 
the  fancy  runs  free  it  is  surprising  how  fascinating  the 
romances  become:  the  style  soon  slips  below  the  surface  of 


La  Calprenede's  Romances  31 

things  to  be  noticed  and  the  characters  move  and  have  their 
being  in  a  world,  unlike  our  own  to  be  sure,  but  in  one  per- 
fectly suited  to  them  and  in  itself  interesting.  If  one  gives 
himself  up  to  the  genius  of  the  place  he  finds  nothing  to  scoff 
at,  nothing  that  jars;  all  is  painted  in  purple  and  gold,  but 
the  colors  blend  well;  there  is  no  incongruity,  no  lack  of 
harmony. 

Polemon^s  home,  the  scene  of  activities  in  the  first  part 
of  the  romance,  is  thus  described. 

Polemon's  house  was  seated  at  the  foot  of  a  Uttle  hill,  about 
five  or  six  hundred  paces  from  the  Euphrates;  on  that  side  toward 
the  River  it  was  sheltered  with  a  high  Wood,  which  reached  from 
the  Garden  walls  almost  to  the  Bank  of  it;  on  that  toward  the  hill 
there  were  many  Vineyards,  and  on  the  other  two  an  open  plain 
of  a  vast  and  spacious  breadth;  on  the  side  towards  Babylon  it 
spread  itself  to  the  very  Gates,  and  on  the  other  as  far  as  the  Temple 
of  Apollo.  It  was  in  that,  the  Princes  caused  their  Army  to  encamp, 
covering  themselves  on  the  side  toward  their  Enemies  with  the 
wood,  and  with  the  Hill. 

The  City  of  Babylon,  where  the  rest  of  the  direct  action 
is  placed,  is  presented  as  follows:^ 

The  great  City  of  Babylon  (the  stately  Work  of  valiant 
Semiramis,  and  then  considered  as  one  of  the  wonders  of  the 
World)  is  seated  on  both  sides  of  the  Euphrates,  which  passing 
between  its  buildings,  divides  the  Town  into  two  equal  parts; 
they  are  joyned  together  by  many  Bridges,  and  principally  by  one 
very  great  one  of  Stone,  different  in  matter  from  its  other  Buildings, 
and  considerable  for  its  breadth,  height,  and  marvellous  structure. 
The  Banks  of  the  River  are  kept  up  with  two  Brick  Walls,  and 
have  high  large  Causies  on  each  side,  which  yet  would  not  be  able 
to  stop  the  impetuousness  of  the  Stream,  when  it  is  swelled  with 
Rain,  if  there  were  not  deep  open  places  at  certain  distances. 
....  There  was  to  be  seen  that  miracle  of  a  Hanging  Garden, 
so  cried  up  by  Ancient  Writers,  where  in  Earth  carried  thither 
with  an  admirable  industry  and  sustained  by  Pillars  of  two  hundred 

1  p.  473. 


32  Herbert  Wynford  Hill 

foot  high,  there  grew  Trees  whose  Branches  seemed  to  touch  the 
Clouds,  presenting  tufted  Forrests  to  the  eye  of  Passengers  above 
the  tops  of  the  highest  Buildings. 

These  two  descriptions  are  not  very  highly  colored  and 
are  distinctly  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  soldier.  In 
nearly  every  case  the  descriptions  of  places  are  slight,  as  in 
that  of  the  Garden  of  Abdolomius,  which  he  passes  over  with 
the  remark  ''It  is  not  necessary  for  me  to  describe  the  beauty 
of  a  place  which  you  have  often  seen."  In  the  course  of 
what  happens  in  the  next  page  or  two  we  learn  that  this 
garden  possesses  a  grot,  secret  arbors,  fountains,  and  murmur- 
ing rivulets;  but  these  details  are  woven  into  the  story.  In 
the  following  description  we  have  a  good  example  of  his 
method  :i 

We  were  in  a  very  close  Arbour,  yet  from  it  we  might  see  the 
gate  of  the  Garden,  and  know  all  that  was  done  in  it,  without 
being  perceiv'd.  We  saw  the  Ladies  part  several  ways,  according 
to  their  different  inclinations:  The  Queens  began  to  walk  in  the 
broad  Alley,  which  went  along  the  side  of  a  little  stream.  The 
Princess  Parisatis,  with  Apamia,  and  Arsinoe,  Artabasus  his 
daughters,  and  sisters  to  Barsina,  withdrew  into  an  Arbour;  and 
the  Princess  Statira  making  a  great  cushion  to  be  carried  by  Cleone, 
the  dearest  of  her  maids  of  honor,  walk'd  toward  a  Grot,  where  there 
was  a  pleasing  Fountain.  My  Prince  having  seen  her  pass  by,  gave 
her  the  leisure  to  retire  as  she  intended,  and  a  while  after  sHpt 
through  a  covered  Alley,  which  led  unseen  unto  that  Grot.  He 
gave  me  leave  to  follow  him,  and  going  softly,  and  without  noise, 
we  came  into  the  entry  of  it;  my  Master  trembling  with  love  and 
respect,  was  even  like  a  lost  man;  but  he  was  much  more  so  when 
drawing  near  his  Princess,  he  saw  her  laid  along  by  the  edge  of  the 
Fountain,  and  already  fain  asleep  upon  the  Cushion  which  Cleone 
had  brought  her. 

He  often  uses  a  setting  appropriate  to  the  mood  of  his 
characters  as  in  the  following  description. 

1  Cassandra,  p.  56. 


La  Calpkenede's  Romances  33 

Cassandra,  p.  495' 
She  had  some  other  discourses  with  herself,  full  of  irresolution, 
when  she  entred  into  the  Wood,  that  had  been  shewed  her,  and  there 
upon  the  green  swarth  she  lost  that  track,  she  had  followed,  and 
wandered  about  a  great  while  among  the  Trees.  That  Wood  had 
something  more  wild  and  savage  in  it  than  others,  and  was  more 
suitable  than  ordinary,  to  a  melancholy  solitary  humor:  The  Trees 
were  of  an  excessive  height,  and  with  age  were  almost  covered  with 
Moss  and  Ivy;  their  tufted  Branches  cast  a  shade,  which  even  at 
high  noon,  defended  a  great  deal  of  the  ground  from  the  sun's 
most  piercing  Beams,  among  the  Trees  one  might  see  many  pieces 
of  Rock  overgrown  also  with  Moss,  and  for  the  most  part  dropping 
with  a  clear  Water,  which  moystened  the  Grass  round  about  them, 
and  which  with  the  help  of  certain  little  Springs,  turned  insensibly 
into  a  little  Rivulet:  The  place  was  rugged  and  unfit  for  walking 
as  well  by  reason  of  the  Rocks,  as  of  thick  Bryars  and  Bushes  that 
stopt  the  passage,  and  shewed,  it  was  but  very  little  frequented. 
The  Princess  roved  about  a  while,  where  it  was  passable  with  least 
inconveniency;  and  though  she  was  almost  out  of  hope,  she  found 
some  pleasure  (nevertheless)  in  visiting  a  place  so  unfrequented, 
and  so  conformable  to  the  pensive  humor  she  had  long  been  in. 

It  is  only  occasionally  that  La  Calprenede  goes  into  such 
details  as  we  find  in  the  following  description  of  the  Temple 
of  Apollo. 2 

The  Platform  of  it  was  a  Pentagone,  and  the  Frontespiece 
appeared  in  Perspective,  between  two  rowes  of  trees  of  an  extraor- 
dinary height,  which  made  a  long  Walk  whose  other  end  reach'd 
to  the  bank  of  the  River.  This  Front  was  marvelously  high, 
beautified  with  many  Statues,  and  particularly  with  two  Marble 
Pillars  of  an  excessive  height,  upon  which  the  God  Apollo,  and 
the  Goddess  his  Sister,  were  placed  in  their  Chariots.  The  Gates 
were  Cedar,  standing  on  the  top  of  five  or  six  Steps,  of  the  fairest 
Parian  Marble  that  was  ever  seen:  the  Floor  of  the  Temple  was 
Paved  with  the  same,  and  the  Walls  were  all  adorned  with  Pictures, 
which  represented  the  most  famous  actions  of  that  God  [follows  a 
list  of  these  pictures] 

1  Literal  translation  of  Cassandre,  Tome  9,  Partie  V,  Livre  2,  p.  308. 

2  Cassandra,  p.  36. 


34  Herbert  Wynford  Hill 

In  his  description  of  his  heroines  La  Calprenede  exercises 
less  restraint;  the  following  description  of  Berenice  is 
thoroughly  characteristic.^ 

Cassandra,  p.  216 

Both  of  them  were  exactly  perfect,  but  that  of  Berenice's  was 
the  more  delicate,  her  skin  whiter,  her  features  milder,  and  more 
suitable  to  her  sex;  she  had  something  in  her  eyes  so  bright  and 
piercing,  that  a  heart  must  of  necessity  either  be  stupid  or  strongly 
prepossessed,  if  it  could  bear  her  looks  without  alteration.  As  she 
was  neither  fair  nor  brown  so  were  her  eyes  neither  grey  nor  black, 
but  their  color  holding  something  of  both,  accompanied  that  of  her 
hair,  which  likewise  being  neither  fair  nor  black,  had  borrowed  a 
shadow  of  each,  that  made  a  clear  auburn  colour,  incomparably 
more  beautiful  than  either;  her  face  was  little,  but  it  had  naturally 
all  the  fullness  that  was  necessary  to  form  a  complete  oval,  and 
though  she  was  slender,  her  neck  and  hands  were  plump,  and  mar- 
vellously well  proportioned;  her  looks  and  all  her  motions  were 
accompanied  with  a  natural  sweetness  which  showed  itself  plainly 
in  the  smallest  of  her  actions;  and  though  her  countenance  were 
truly  full  of  Majesty,  yet  was  it  one  of  those  which  strike  less  fear 
than  love,  which  seldom  own  themselves  with  lightenings  and  thun- 
ders, able  to  cloud  their  ordinary  serenity,  and  which  ill  accommo- 
date themselves  to  the  motions  of  the  soul,  when  they  are  set  at 
work  by  anger. 

The  sentences  are  for  the  most  part  long.^  Balance  is 
frequent :  almost  any  page  will  furnish  sentences  like  this  :^ 

If  one  of  us  must  die,  'tis  I  alone,  I  alone  am  guilty,  perjured, 
faithless;  and  you  are  still  innocent,  still  firm,  still  constant;  I  am 
she  who  have  unworthily  betrayed  you,  and  basely  forsaken  you,  and 
you  are  he  who  hath  too  generously,  and  too  faithfully  lov'd  me. 

1  Koerting  says  that  La  Calprenede  lists  the  details  in  the  following  order: 
"Haltung,  Gang,  Teint,  Augen,  Mund,  Zahne,  Haare,  Busen,  Hande."  A 
more  complete  analysis  of  his  character,  description,  and  presentation  will  be 
fomid  below  in  the  discussion  of  the  Cleopatra. 

2  Cf.  the  discussion  of  sentence  length  under  Cleopatra. 
«  P.  106. 


La  Calprenede's  Romances  35 

Sometimes  the  balance  is  sustained  through  a  half-column 
folio  as  in  Lysimachus^  speech  beginning  on  p.  148.^  A 
brief  passage  will  suffice  to  illustrate  its  character. 

Hephestion  has  the  happiness  to  possess  her,  and  Lysimachus 
the  glory  to  die  for  her.  If  I  have  been  jealous  of  Hephestion's 
fortune,  he  ought  to  envy  my  destiny;  and  if  his  passion  could  not 
be  more  happily  recompenced,  mine  could  not  have  a  more  honor- 
able conclusion. 

The  balance  is  generally  simple,  without  any  further 
artificial  arrangements.  Sometimes  the  author  cannot 
resist  exhibiting  his  ingenuity  in  more  involved  balance,  as 
in  the  following: 

Cassandra,  p.  567 
In  Berenice's  face  there  was  more  sweetness,  but  more  majesty 
in  Statira's:  yet  in  that  difference,  Statira's  majesty  was  so  sweet 
and  Berenice's  sweetness  so  Majestick,  that  all  the  other  beauties 
in  the  world  could  not  have  shown  so  great  a  sweetness,  and  so 
great  a  Majesty  together. 

Nor  does  he  hesitate  to  balance  the  abstract  with  the 
concrete.     Lysimachus  says:^ 

I  left  my  bed,  and  my  chamber,  but  not  that  mortal  sorrow, 
which  ought  to  have  brought  me  to  my  grave,  etc., 

and  Thalestris  speaks  in  similar  fashion  i^ 

All  the  favors  he  had  stoln  from  me,  all  the  familiarities  I  had 
innocently  granted  him,  came  thronging  into  my  memory,  and 
making  a  mixture  of  shame  and  anger,  kindled  in  my  face  a  colour 
like  fire,  and  in  my  mind  a  deadly  wrath. 

The  style  although  not  ornate  is  well  colored  with  figures 
of  speech.     It  is  said  of  Oroondates:^ 

His  fire  was  kindled  again  by  this  recital,  and  so  much  of  his 
affection  as  was  smothered  by  the  beUef  of  his  Princesses  infidelity, 

1  Cf.  p.  97  for  another  as  long  and  balanced  throughout. 

2  Cassandra,  p.  149.  » Ibid.,  p.  170.  « Ibid.,  p.  92. 


36  Herbert  Wynford  Hill 

broke  forth  again  into  such  a  violent  flame,  by  the  knowledge  of 
her  innocence,  that  he  became  more  ardent,  and  more  passionate 
than  ever. 

Parisatis  and  Statira  are  described  leaning  their  cheeks 
against  each  others':^ 

Their  tears  mixt  themselves  confusedly  witli  such  a  grace,  that 
in  that  amiable  disorder  wherein  love  languished  with  pity,  sadness 
appeared  in  its  chiefest  triumph. 

Lysimachus  thus  describes  the  effect  of  his  second  sight 
of  Parisatis  i^ 

In  this  interim  my  condition  was  very  much  changed,  and  that 
second  sight  of  Parisatis  had  so  weakened  my  heart  that  it  was  no 
longer  able  to  defend  itself,  nor  to  avoid  those  mortal  wounds, 
which  it  hath  so  dearly  conserved,  and  wherof  it  neither  can  nor 
will  be  cured,  but  by  the  end  of  my  life  alone.  Sorrow  appeared  so 
charming  in  the  countenance  of  that  dear^  prostrate  Lady,  and  6er 
eyes,  though  full  of  water,  threw  such  piercing  darts  at  me,  that 
being  quite  surcharged  with  love  and  compassion,  I  went  forth 
with  the  King  in  such  a  perplexity,  that  I  had  much  ado  to  know 
where  I  was.  When  I  was  gotten  into  my  Tent,  her  Idea  came  yet 
more  strongly  into  my  remembrance,  and  notwithstanding  all  the 
attempts  I  made  to  blot  it  out,  my  passion  being  whetted  by  that 
difficulty,  assaulted  me  with  greater  violence,  and  seem'd  to  inflame 
itself  with  anger,  at  the  resistance  I  made  against  an  affection  that 
was  so  glorious  to  me. 

Sustained  personification  of  the  passions  and  emotions 
are  the  most  frequent  figures  employed.  The  illustrations 
cited  might  be  duplicated  from  nearly  any  page;  one  more 
example  will  be  sufl&cient  i'^ 

His  jealousie  encreasing  by  the  strength  of  appearances,  grew 
then  so  insolent,  as  to  dispute  for  superiority  with  his  joy;  and 
indeed  it  had  not  so  little  power,  but  that  it  held  his  mind  for  some 

1  Cassandra,  p.  120.  ^  i^id.,  p.  122. 

3  The  Folio  reads  fear,  evidently  a  misprint. 
*  P.  202. 


La  Calprenede's  Romances  37 

time  wavering  in  suspence;  but  in  the  end  the  excellencie  of  his 
nature,  and  of  his  affection,  which  was  absolutely  pure,  and  dis- 
interested, gave  joy  the  upper  hand,  and  made  him  more  satisfied 
with  the  life  of  his  Princess,  than  afflicted  with  her  inconstancy. 

La  Calprenede  is  fond  of  light  and  color :  the  sparkle  of  the 
dew,  the  flashing  of  armor  in  the  sun,  and  the  glitter  of 
jewels  light  up  the  pages  of  the  romance.  The  lovely  daugh- 
ters of  Darius  lay  aside  mourning  at  the  close  and  appear  in 
^'all  those  embellishments  which  the  misfortunes  of  their  life 
had  made  them  to  neglect." 

Then  Gold  and  Jewels  of  inestimable  value  glittered  with  a 
Magnificence  suitable  to  the  quality  of  those  Great  Princesses, 
and  their  Beauty  receiving  its  former  lustre  by  those  exterior 
Ornaments,  after  having  been  a  long  time  buryed  in  afflictions, 
shew'd  it  self  like  the  Sun,  when  after  tedious  Storms,  and  foggy 
Mists,  it  breaks  forth  of  the  Cloud  that  had  obscured  it,  and  appears 
to  our  eyes  again  with  its  usual  brightness. 

The  figures  rarely  pass  the  bounds  of  good  taste;  only 
occasionally  does  one  encounter  such  comparisons  as  that 
made  of  Oroondates,  who  ''as  a  young  Lion  wakens  his  anger 
with  his  tail,  animated  his  courage  by  the  remembrance  of 
his  losses."  On  the  whole  the  style  although  diffuse  is 
vigorous;  and  although  rhetorical  is  not  florid. 

Cleopatra. — The  setting  of  the  Cleopatra  is  drawn  with 
a  firmer  hand  and  more  abundantly  along  certain  lines. 
There  are  more  sketches  of  landscapes  and  bowers  and 
gardens.  Fuller  pictures  of  the  social  life  of  the  time  are 
furnished;  a  ball,  a  hunt,  and  a  gladiatorial  combat  are  pre- 
sented in  detail.  Greater  emphasis  is  laid  on  social  graces; 
the  atmosphere  is  more  formal.  The  descriptive  range  of 
Cleopatra  is  accordingly  wider  than  that  of  Cassandra,  but 
as 'a  rule  the  descriptions  are  shorter.     This  is  especially 


38  Herbert  Wynford  Hill 

true  of  landscapes:  springs,  fountains,  brooks,  and  glades 
flourish  but  are  disposed  of  in  a  line  or  two.^ 

Formal  gardens  and  bowers  figure  more  prominently  in 
Cleopatra  than  in  Cassandra.^ 

This  Noble  Assembly,  the  noblest  haply  that  the  whole  Uni- 
verse could  have  afforded,  went  all  together  into  a  spacious  walk, 
covered  in  a  manner  with  trees  of  extraordinary  height  and  abutted, 
as  all  the  rest  did,  upon  a  large  Basin  of  Water  which  is  in  the 
midst  of  the  Garden,  having  in  it  one  principal  figure  which  may 
be  seen  from  all  the  extremities,  and  that  is  a  Neptune,  placed  in  the 
midst  of  the  water,  seated  in  his  Chariot,  drawn  by  Tritons,  and 
holding  in  his  right  hand  his  Trident,  which  at  the  three  points 
of  it  cast  forth  water  to  a  greater  height  than  the  highest  trees  of 
the  Garden.  He  is  compassed  about  by  a  hundred  Nereids  of 
Alablaster,  disposed  about  the  extremities  of  the  Basis,  in  a  hundred 
several  postures  placed  at  equal  distances  within  a  row  of  Pilasters 
of  white  marble,  by  which  it  is  encompassed.  From  this  place, 
by  the  means  of  twelve  spacious  walks,  which  abutt  there,  may  be 
seen  all  the  extremities  of  the  Garden,  and  the  end  of  every  walk 
is  remarkable  for  some  object  that  does  a  certain  pleasant  violence 
on  the  sight,  and  surprises  the  Spectator  in  twelve  different  manners. 
That  particular  walk  into  which  we  were  gotten,  entertained  our 
eyes  only  with  the  gate  of  the  Garden,  and  a  prospect  of  Rome; 
but  all  the  rest  end  either  with  perspectives,  made  with  so  much  art 
that  they  deceive  the  sight,  even  to  the  extremity  thereof;  or  with 
grotts,  admirable  as  well  for  the  variety  of  shells,  and  the  Nacre 
whereof  they  are  built,  as  for  the  diversity  of  the  springs  and 
figures,  whereby  they  are  adorned,  or  with  Arbours  miraculous  for 
their  structure,  or  lastly  with  descents  of  water,  ordered  with  such 
extraordinary  artifice,  as  that  falling  from  an  excessive  height  upon 
a  many  several  steps,  it  makes  a  confused  but  withal,  a  pleasant 
noise,  and  so  runs  into  a  number  of  little  channels,  which  border 
the  Walks  in  divers  places,  cross  them  in  divers  others,  so  that 
people  are  forced  to  go  over  them  upon  Bridges,  having  on  both 
sides  Pilasters  of  Marble. 

1  "It  was  a  most  delightful  Spring  whose  natural  beauty,  a  little  Art 
had  very  much  augmented;  the  soiu-ce  was  clear  and  lively,  the  grass  green 
and  fresh  round  about,  and,  by  a  great  tuft  of  Trees,  embraced  and  defended 
from  the  Sun,  and  the  sight  of  passengers"  (Vol.  II,  p.  127). 

^Cleopatra,  Vol.  II. 


La  Calprenede's  Romances  39 

This  turning  to  formal  gardens  and  bowers  is  in  part  a 
concession  to  the  following  of  the  school  of  Scudery.  Cer- 
tainly Mile  Scudery  herself  never  surpassed  in  her  most 
fanciful  flights  the  following  description  of  a  love  galley:^ 

The  boat  was  in  the  form  of  a  little  Galley  compassed  about 
by  a  row  of  Pilasters,  which  seemed  to  be  of  gold,  but  was  indeed 
of  wood  guilt;  without  which  hung  out  a  hundred  arms  gilt  as  the 
row  of  Pilasters,  which  sustained  a  hundred  great  torches  of  virgin 
wax,  whereby  the  darkness  of  the  night  was  removed  to  the  distance 
of  many  stadia.  The  oars  seemed  to  be  of  gold  proportionably  to 
all  the  rest,  and  the  Rowers  were  twelve  little  Cupids  winged, 
armed  with  arrows  and  quiver,  and  covered  with  cloth  of  gold  in 
those  parts  of  their  bodyes  where  it  was  not  requisite  they  should  be 
naked.  At  the  extremity  of  the  stern  grew  up  a  golden  tree,  of 
the  height  of  an  ordinary  mast  having  at  the  top  the  form  of  a 
Scuttle,  compassed  about  by  a  row  of  golden  Pilasters  and  twelve 
arms  proportionable  to  those  below,  wherein  were  twelve  torches 
and  in  the  midst  of  all  that  sight  was  a  Heart  hanging  down,  which 
seemed  to  be  all  on  fire,  and  out  of  which  by  some  strange  artifice, 
there  visible  issued  flames  ascending  up  towards  the  stars,  and 
made  more  light  than  all  the  torches.  In  the  distances  which  were 
between  the  torches  were  hung  up  twelve  streamers,  which  were 
tost  up  and  down  by  the  flames,  and  the  smoke  a  thousand  several 
wayes,  and  in  which  by  reason  of  the  greatnesse  of  the  light  there 
might  be  distinctly  seen  double  A.A.'s  with  other  characters, 
expressing  several  waies  the  word  ANTONIA.  The  same  Letters 
and  the  same  Characters  were  disposed  up  and  down  all  over 
the  boat,  as  also  upon  the  Pilasters,  the  oars  and  the  mast, 
and  it  was  so  lightsom  everywhere,  that  the  least  things  could 
not  be  more  distinctly  discerned  than  they  were  at  that  time. 

The  descriptions  of  the  heroines  do  not  differ  materially 
from  those  in  Cassandra.  The  following  presentation  of 
Elisa  is  thoroughly  characteristic. 

Our  former  description  of  Candace's  beauty  dispences  with 
a  farther  recital,  but  we  should  deal  unjustly  with  the  fair  unknown, 

1  Vol.  I,  p.  221. 


40  Herbert  Wynford  Hill 

should  we  hide  them  in  silence,  in  whom  the  Queen  found  many 
dehcacies  that  had  a  far  better  title  to  her  wonder,  than  the  Praetor's 
relation  could  challenge,  the  new  fain  snow  was  tanned  in  com- 
parison of  the  refined  purity  of  that  white  that  was  the  ground  of 
her  complexion,  and  if  sorrow  had  gathered  the  carnations  of  her 
cheeks,  sham'd^  to  see  herself  surpriz'd  half  naked,  though  by 
persons  of  her  own  sex,  had  replanted  of  hers  there,  with  such 
fresh  advantages,  as  any  weaker  eye  than  Candace's  would  have 
shrunk  at  the  brightness  of  that  mingled  lustre;  her  mouth  (as 
well  for  shape  as  complexion)  shamed  the  imitation  of  the  best 
Pensils,  and  the  liveliest  colours;  and  though  some  petty  intervals 
of  joy  wanted  the  smiles  that  grief  had  sequestred,  yet  she  never 
opened  it,  but  like  the  East  at  the  birth  of  a  beautiful  day,  and 
then  discovered  Treasures,  whose  excelling  whiteness  made  the 
price  inestimable;  all  the  features  of  her  face  had  so  neer  a  kindred 
of  proportion  and  symetry,  as  the  severest  Master  of  Appelles 
Art  might  have  called  it  his  glory  to  have  copied  beauties  from  her, 
as  the  best  of  Models.  The  circumference  of  her  usage,  shewed 
the  extremes  of  an  imperfect  Circle,  and  almost  formed  it  to  a 
perfect  Oval,  and  this  abridgment  of  marvels  was  taper'd  by  a  pair 
of  the  brightest  stars  that  ever  were  lighted  up  by  the  hand  of 
Nature:  as  their  lustre  might  justly  claim  the  title  of  Celestial, 
so  their  colour  was  the  same  with  Heavens,  there  was  a  spherical 
harmony  in  their  motion,  and  that  mingled  with  a  vivacity  so 
penetrating  as  neither  firmest  eye,  nor  the  strongest  soul  could 
arm  themselves  with  a  resistance  of  proof  against  those  pointed 
glories,  their  very  languishing  dejection  darted  more  charms 
through  the  clouds  of  griefs,  that  darkned  their  brightest  glory, 
than  all  the  others  could  boast  in  their  clearest  Sunshine;  nor  were 
they  ever  so  dim'd  with  woe,  but  they  had  still  vigour  enough  left 
to  open  themselves  a  passage  to  hearts  defended  with  the  greatest 
insensibiUty;  her  head  was  crowned  with  a  prodigious  quantity 
of  fair  long  hair,  whereof  the  colour  as  fitly  suited  the  beauty  of 
her  eyes,  as  imagination  could  make  it.  To  these  marvels  of  face 
were  joyned  the  rest  of  her  neck,  hands,  and  shape,  and  there 
seemed  a  contest  betwixt  the  form  and  whiteness  of  the  two  former, 

1  Evidently  a  typographical  error  for  shame;  cf.  the  French  "la  honte 
qu'elle,"  etc.  The  error  crept  in  through  the  following  contracted  participle, 
"surpriz'd." 


La  Calprenede's  Romances  41 

which  had  the  larger  commission  from  Nature  to  work  wonders; 
and  if  she  were  not  so  tall  of  stature  as  Candace,  in  revenge  of  that 
she  was  far  more  slender,  and  her  face  much  less  than  the  fair 
Queen  of  Aethiopia's.    In  fine  her  beauty  was  miraculous. 

From  the  passage  just  quoted  it  is  evident  that  the 
sentences  are  very  long.  The  sentences  and  paragraphs  are 
so  long  in  the  French  as  to  make  a  page  forbidding  work  to 
the  modern  reader  who  is  accustomed  to  the  frequent  help 
of  paragraph  divisions.  This  is  only  partly  a  matter  of 
structure.  It  is  largely  a  matter  of  punctuation.  Take, 
for  instance,  the  first  sentence  of  this  passage  and  repunc- 
tuate  it  without  any  other  change.^ 

Our  former  description  of  Candace's  beauty  dispenses  with  a 
farther  recital.  But  we  should  deal  unjustly  with  the  fair  unknown 
should  we  hide  them  in  silence  in  whom  the  Queen  found  many 
delicacies  that  had  a  far  better  title  to  her  wonder  than  the  Praetor's 
relation  could  challenge.  The  new  fain  snow  was  tanned  in  com- 
parison of  the  refined  purity  of  that  white  that  was  the  ground  of 
her  complexion.  And  if  sorrow  had  gathered  the  carnations  of 
her  cheeks,  shame  to  see  herself  surpriz'd  half  naked,  though  by 
persons  of  her  own  sex,  had  replanted  of  hers  there  with  such  fresh 
advantages  as  any  weaker  eye  than  Candace's  would  have  shrunk 
at  the  brightness  of  that  mingled  lustre.  Her  mouth  as  well  for 
shape  as  Complexion  shamed  the  imitation  of  the  best  Pensils 
and  the  liveliest  colours.  And  though  some  petty  intervals  of 
joy  wanted  the  smiles  that  grief  had  sequestered;  yet  she  never 
opened  it  but  like  the  East  at  the  birth  of  a  beautiful  day,  and  then 
discovered  Treasures  whose  excelling  whiteness  made  the  price 
inestimable.  All  the  features  of  her  face  had  so  near  a  kind  of 
proportion  and  symmetry  as  the  severest  Master  of  Appelles  Art 
might  have  called  it  his  glory  to  have  copied  beauties  from  her  as 
the  best  of  Models,  etc. 

In  the  description  of  battles  and  single  combats  the 
action  is  often  rapid  and  the  sentences  short. 
Balance  is  as  frequent  as  in  Cassandra. 

1  In  the  French  the  whole  description  is  punctuated  as  one  sentence 
down  to  "In  fine." 


42  Herbert  Wynford  Hill 

Cleopatra,  Vol.  II,  p.  380 

0  ye  Gods,  cried  I,  is  it  possible  that  Tullia,  the  object  of  my 
adorations,  should  be  reduced  to  those  extremities  for  a  person's 
sake  who  is  not  in  the  least  sensible  of  her  sufferings  ?  and  that  he 
who,  is  ready  to  die  for  her  dares  not  hope  for  any  part  of  that 
which  another  so  ungratefully  disdains!  O  Tullia  what  cruel 
Destiny  reigns  over  thee,  that  thou  must  love  him  that  shuns  thee, 
and  art  so  insensible  of  his  devotions  that  dies  for  thee!  O  Ptolomey, 
is  there  any  necessity  that  thou  shouldst  be  possessor  of  a  Good 
thou  dost  contemn,  and  that  thy  unfortunate  Friend  should  derive 
from  that  Good,  which  thou  deprivest  him  of  without  the  least 
enjoyment  to  thyself,  all  his  hopes  and  all  the  happiness  of  his 
life!  O  Lentulus,  must  thou  needs  fall  in  love  with  Tullia,  whose 
soul  is  insusceptible  of  all  impressions  other  then  what  it  hath 
received  for  Ptolomey  or  shouldst  thou  hate  Ptolomey,  who,  though 
not  chargeable  with  any  such  designs  will  prove  the  occasion  of 
all  thy  unhappiness. 

The  style  is  highly  figurative.  Almost  any  page  will 
furnish  a  passage  like  the  following: 

Cleopatra,  Vol.  I,  p.  78 

But  Oh!  what  a  number  of  bitter  plaints  and  hollow  sighs  did 
that  sad  remembrance  tear  from  his  mouth  and  heart:  and  how 
fitly  did  the  blacks  of  the  night  suit  with  the  mourning  which  his 
soul  had  put  on:  to  him  the  darkest  shades  were  far  more  welcome 
and  agreeable  than  the  brightest  beams  that  could  spring  from  the 
active  treasury  of  Light,  and  not  well  enduring  the  day,  ever  since 
the  eclipse  of  those  fair  hopes  that  enhghtened  his  soul,  he  found 
some  comfort  in  an  obscurity  conform'd  to  that  of  his  spirit  that 
helpt  him  to  wrap  it  in  a  dull  cloud  of  heavy  thoughts;  and  thus 
having  quitted  the  care  of  himself,  the  day  appear' d,  before  the 
repose  of  his  body  could  give  an  hours  calm  to  the  storms  of  his 
mind.  He  no  sooner  spy'd  the  new-born  light  shoot  itself  through 
the  windows  of  his  Chamber,  when  saluting  it  with  some  sighs, 
"How  importunate  is  this  bright  intruder!  (cry'd  he)  how  sensibly 
dost  thou  aggravate  the  vexations  of  a  wretch,  which  should  be 
intomb'd  in  an  eternal  night  ?" 


^  La  Calprenede's  Romances  43 

The  conventional  kinds  of  pathetic  fallacy  common  to 
the  pastoral  romance  are  present,  although  not  in  abun- 
dance. If  the  heroine  falls  into  the  ocean  the  waves  are 
proud  of  the  privilege  of  courting  and  kissing  the  fairest 
lady  that  Nature  ever  framed  {Cleopatra^  Vol.  I,  p.  2).  The 
wind  amorously  sports  with  her  hair  {Cleopatra,  Vol.  I,  p. 
319;  IV.  Partie  de  Cleopdtre,  Liv.  Ill,  p.  430)  and  freely  kisses 
her  celestial  countenance  (Cleopatra,  Vol.  I,  p.  359;  IV.  Partie 
de  Cleopdtre,  Liv.  IV,  p.  774),  and  the  earth  which  sustains 
her  beautiful  body  seems  to  produce  new  grass  to  receive 
her  the  more  agreeably  (Cleopatra,  Vol.  I,  p.  319;  IV.  Partie 
de  Cleopdtre,  Liv.  Ill,  p.  429). 

Generally  the  figures  are  well  sustained  but  it  is  not  diffi- 
cult to  find  passages  where  the  figures  shift  with  kaleido- 
scopic rapidity,  as  in  the  following  passage:' 

Ingratitude  and  Cruelty  are  the  blackest  of  all  vices,  and  so 
soon  as  the  Soul  of  a  Prince  has  once  taken  their  indelible  stains, 
all  that  he  had  before  of  great  and  good  is  put  to  flight  by  that 
strong  poison  which  entirely  seizes  his  inclinations  and  scarce  leaves 
him  any  shade  or  trace  of  vertue.  The  former  is  oft  the  Child  of 
that  Pride  which  is  the  tumour  of  prosperity;  and  if  the  latter 
does  not  rise  from  a  root  in  our  nature,  it  often  springs  from  the 
womb  of  an  irregular  ambition,  which  usurping  the  throne  of  the 
will  excites  all  thoughts  that  are  the  legitimate  race  of  Reason, 
and  shuts  the  eyes  of  those  that  are  possessed  with  this  Devil, 
upon  every  consideration  that  Piety,  Justice  and  Honour  itself 
can  represent  to  their  intoxicated  judgment. 


1  Cleopatra,  Vol.  I,  p.  214;  III.  Partie  de  Cleopdtre,  Liv.  Ill,  p.  375:  "L'ln- 
gratitude  &  la  cruautg  sont  les  plus  noir  de  tous  les  vices,  &  des  que  I'ame 
d'un  Prince  est  tache,  tout  ce  qu'elle  avait  de  bon  &  de  grad  se  dissipe  par  ce 
venin  qui  la  corropt,  toute  entiere,  &  qui  luy  laisse  a  peine  quelque  ombre  & 
quelque  trace  de  vertu.  La  premier  de  ces  deux  vices  n'aist  souvent  de 
I'orgueil  que  nos  prosp6rite  nous  inspirent;  &  le  dernier  s'il  ne  vient  du  naturel, 
tire  souvent  son  origine  d'tme  ambition  des  reglee,  qui  s'emparat  d'un  esprit, 
en  banit  tous  les  sentimens  raisonnables,  &  ferme  les  yeux  de  ceux  qui  en 
sont  prevenus  a  toutes  les  cosiderations  que  la  pietS,  la  justice,  &  I'honneur 
mesme  leur  peuve  trepresenter. 


44  Herbert  Wynford  Hill 

Loveday  has,  according  to  his  usual  practice,  heightened 
the  figures;  and  added  some  new  touches  that,  in  places, 
render  the  passage  absurd. 

At  times  the  imagery  borders  on  the  grotesque,  as  in  the 
following:  "  .  .  .  .  whose  memory  I  ought  to  embalm  with 
tears  refined  from  my  purest  blood"  {Cleopatra,  Vol.  I,  p. 
167;  iii  chap.  Liv.  I,  p.  31,  *^  .  .  .  .  de  qui  je  devrois 
deplorer  la  perte  avec  des  larmes  tirees  du  plus  pur  &  de  plus 
precieux  de  mon  sang  .  .  .  .").  Much  of  the  grotesque  in 
the  translation  is  not  found  in  the  French.  This  is  especially 
true  where  it  consists  in  the  turn  of  a  single  word  as  in  the  use 
of  the  word  embalm  above,  or  in  such  passages  as  ''he  vomited 
his, first  resentment"  (Vol.  I,  p.  163)  for,  '41  exprima  ses 
premiers  resetimes"  (III,  1.2). 

The  most  characteristic  features  of  the  style  of  the  heroic 
romances  are  circumlocution  and  exaggeration.  La  Cal- 
prenede's  romances  are  no  exception.  The  heroines  rarely 
open  their  bright  eyes  to  receive  the  light  that  they  do  not 
open  them  to  let  out  tears;  but  they  never  merely  weep. 
They  break  forth  into  rivulets,  brooks,  and  rivers  of  tears. 
Elisa  (Liv.  II,  p.  495)  feels  a  torrent  of  tears  ready  to  force 
their  passage  to  make  an  inundation  of  her  countenance. 
This  does  not  follow  the  French  closely  (cf.  XII.  Partie  de 
Cleopdtre  Liv.  II,  p.  227,  "sentant  que  les  larmes  forgoient 
ses  paupieres  pour  sortir  avec  violence").  Cleopatra  (Div. 
II,  p.  354)  is  moved  to  so  much  compassion  that  a  beautiful 
dew  begins  to  break  forth  at  her  eyes.  Candace  is  so  sensibly 
touched  by  Tyridates'  narration  that  she  suffers  compassion 
to  steal  some  liquid  pearls  from  her  eyes.  No  modern  writer 
would  seriously  introduce  a  speech  as  does  Coriolanus  (p. 
93):  ''Madam,"  said  he,  "if  I  may  be  permitted  without 
offending  the  veneration  I  owe  you,  to  undisguise  a  part  of 
my  sentiments,  I  must  take  the  liberty  to  pay,"  etc.  (cf. 


La  Calprenede's  Romances  45 

chap.ii,  Liv.  I,  p.  128:  "S'ilm^est  permis  Madame,"  luy  dit-il, 
"sans  offencer  le  respect  que  je  vous  dois  de  declarer  devant 
vous  une  partie  de  mes  sentiments,  je  prendray  la  liberty  de 
vous  dire")- 

Everything  is  built  to  heroic  proportions;  almost  any -page 
will  furnish  numerous  examples  of  exaggeration.  The  pas- 
sages already  cited  are  full  of  it.  The  heroes  are  all  more 
than  gods,  and  goddesses  pale  before  the  scintillating  beauty 
of  the  heroines.  Cleopatra,  describing  Antonia,  says,  ''and 
though  Heaven  hath  bestowed  on  her  a  Beauty  of  the  first 
magnitude  among  those  terrestrial  constellations,  whose 
influence  the  earth  adores  and  is  guided  by,  yet  is  this  Beauty 
of  her  person  much  below  that  of  her  mind."  Heroes  and 
heroines  ahke  flood  rivers  with  their  tears  and  warm  the  wind 
with  their  sighs.     The  level  is  uniformly  elevated. 

THE   SOURCES   OF   THE   STYLE 

The  limits  of  our  treatment  do  not  admit  a  full  discussion 
of  the  historical  development  of  the  methods  of  conducting 
the  plot,  or  of  the  development  of  the  style  of  the  heroic 
romances;  but  a  few  of  the  main  lines  of  growth  may  be 
pointed  out.' 

Of  the  historians  Curtius  influenced  La  Calprenede's 
style  the  most  strongly.  In  numerous  places  La  Calprenede 
has  translated  Curtius  literally,  and  the  style  of  the  historian 
slips  almost  insensibly  into  that  of  La  Calprenede.  The 
speech  of  Darius  to  his  soldiers  as  they  are  about  to  encounter 
the  forces  of  Alexander  is  translated  in  detail,  nearly  a 
thousand  words.  The  last  few  sentences  will  illustrate  the 
closeness  of  the  translation. 


1  Cf.  Professor  Crane's  introduction  to  his  edition  of  Les  heros  de  roman 
for  an  excellent  account  of  the  development  of  the  heroic  romance. 


46 


Herbert  Wynford  Hill 


Cassandra,  p.  70 
I  pray  you  by  your  house- 
hold god,  by  the  eternal  Fire  we 
carry  upon  our  Altar,  by  the  light 
of  the  Sun,  which  rises  within 
the  limits  of  my  Empire,  and  by 
the  memory  of  Cyrus,  who 
added  that  of  the  Medes  and 
Lydians  to  it,  that  you  would 
save  both  the  name  and  Nation 
of  the  Persians,  from  its  utter 
ruine,  and  from  its  utter  infamy, 
and  leave  that  glory  to  your 
posterity  which  you  received  so 
entire  from  your  Ancestors. 
You  carry  in  your  own  hands, 
your  goods,  your  lives,  your  liber- 
ties, and  your  future  hopes  and 
in  your  faces  a  most  assured 
victory,  I  read  it  in  your  eyes, 
and  in  your  march;  he  that 
despises  death,  avoids  it  best, 
and  it  soonest  catches  the  fear- 
ful that  flie  from  it;  Let's  on 
therefore  (fellow  souldiers)  whith- 
er so  many  considerations  call 
us;  I  see  the  Enemies  Army 
move,  go  and  receive  them 
courageously,  or  rather  follow 
me,  for  I  refuse  not  to  lead  you 
on  and  to  be  your  example 
either  of  valour  or  cowardise. 

La  Calprenede's  account  continues  in  a  style  so  similar 
that  one  reluctantly  accepts  his  originality: 

1 1660  ed.  Crowne  used  this  speech  in  his  play,  Darius  (Act  I,  p.  12  of 
the  first  ed.,  1688).  A  comparison  of  the  three  texts  convinced  me  that, 
here  as  in  other  parts  of  the  play  where  the  wording  was  almost  identical 
with  that  of  La  Calprendde,  Crowne  had  depended  on  Cnrtius  rather  than  on 
La  CalprenSde. 


Curtius,  Book  IV,  chap,  xiv^ 
Precor  vos  per  Deos  patrios, 
aeternumque  ignem,  qui  prae 
fertur  altaribus,  fulgoremque 
soliis  intra  fines  regni  mei 
orientis,  per  aeternam  me- 
moriam  Cyri,  qui  ademptum 
Medis  Lydisque  imperium  pri- 
mus in  Persidem  intulit,  vindi- 
cate ab  ultimo  dedecore  nomen 
gentumque    Persarum.  Ite 

alacres  &  spe  pleni,  ut  quam 
gloriam  accepistes  a  majoribus 
vestris,  posteris  relinquatis.  In 
dextris  vestris  jam  libertatem, 
opem,  spem  futuri  temporis 
geritis.  Effugit  mortem,  quis- 
quis  contempserit:  timidissi- 
mum  quemque  consequitur. 
Ipse,  non  patrio  more  solum, 
sed  etiam  ut  conspicii  possim, 
curru  vehor.  Nee  recuso,  quo 
minus  imitemini  me,  sive  forti- 
tudinis  exemplum,  sive  ignavire, 
fuero. 


La  Calprenede's  Romances  47 

The  King  spake  these  words  with  a  great  deal  of  vehemence, 
and  the  soldiers  answered  them  with  a  shout,  that  pierced  the  very- 
clouds,  from  which  he  drew  a  good  omen  of  the  Victory.  But  the 
two  Armies  being  so  near,  that  they  were  upon  the  point  of  joining 
battle,  all  the  Commanders  ran  to  their  charges,  and  my  Master 
parting  from  the  King  who  gave  him  his  last  embrace.  "Sir  (said 
he)  I  will  either  die  generously  to  day,  or  restore  unto  your  Majesty 
some  parts  of  what  you  have  lost."  ''Go  Son  (said  the  King)  may 
the  Gods  take  as  great  care  of  thy  safety,  as  of  mine  own,  and  be 
so  gracious,  that  I  may  see  you  again  with  much  joy,  as  I  part  from 
you  with  sorrow." 

In  the  Greek  romances,  as  in  Cassandra  and  Cleopatra, 
oracles  and  dreams  are  used  to  further  the  plot  development, 
and  to  a  limited  extent  histories  are  introduced  as  a  narrative 
device.  Here  we  also  find  letters,  and  discourses  on  various 
topics.  Tatius  especially  delighted  in  these  discourses. 
The  following  on  the  comparative  merits  of  masculine  and 
feminine  beauty  is  typical:^ 

"There  can  be  no  doubt,"  said  Menelaus,  "which  is  preferable. 
Youths  are  much  more  open  and  free  from  affectation  than  women, 
and  their  beauty  stimulates  the  senses  much  more  powerfully." 

"How  so?"  I  asked,  "it  no  sooner  appears  than  it  is  gone.  It 
affords  no  enjoyment  to  the  lover,  but  is  like  the  cup  of  Tantalus, 
while  one  is  drinking  the  liquid  disappears;  and  even  the  little 
which  has  been  swallowed  is  unsatisfying.  No  one  can  have  such 
favorites  without  feeling  his  pleasure  alloyed  with  pain.  The 
draught  of  love  still  leaves  him  thirsty." 

"You  do  not  understand,"  rejoined  Menelaus,  "that  the  per- 
fection of  pleasure  consists  in  its  bringing  with  it  no  satiety;  the 
very  fact  of  its  being  of  a  permanent  and  satisfying  kind  takes 
away  from  its  delight.  What  we  snatch  but  now  and  then  is 
always  new,  and  always  in  full  beauty.  Of  such  things  the  pleasure 
is  not  liable  to  decay  and  age,  and  it  gains  in  intensity  what  it 
loses  by  briefness  of  duration." 

1  Bohn  ed.,  p.  396. 


48  Herbert  Wynford  Hill 

Frequently  the  author  stops  to  philosophize  on  such 
subjects  as  anger  and  desire: 

These  passions  are  like  two  fires  in  the  soul;  they  differ  in 
nature,  but  resemble  each  other  in  intensity;  the  former  urges 
to  hatred,  the  latter  to  love;  the  sources  also  of  their  respective 
flames  are  near  to  one  another,  anger  having  its  seat  in  the  heart, 
the  liver  being  the  abode  of  love  [and  so  on,  through  another  page]. 

In  the  story  of  Daphnis  and  Chloe  we  find  many  descrip- 
tions of  Nature.     Thus  spring  is  described:^ 

It  was  the  beginning  of  spring,  the  flowers  were  in  bloom 
throughout  the  woods,  the  meadows,  and  the  mountains;  there 
were  the  buzzings  of  the  bee,  the  warbhngs  of  the  songsters,  the 
frolics  of  the  lambs.  The  young  of  the  flock  were  skipping  on  the 
mountains,  the  bees  flew  humming  through  the  meadows,  and  the 
songs  of  the  birds  resounded  through  the  bushes.  Seeing  all  things 
pervaded  with  such  unusual  joy,  they,  young  and  susceptible  as 
they  were,  imitated  whatever  they  saw  or  heard.  Hearing  the 
carol  of  the  birds  they  sang;^  seeing  the  sportive  skipping  of  the 
lambs,  they  danced;  and  in  imitation  of  the  bees  they  gathered 
flowers.^ 

Here  balance  and  cumulative  repetition  are  carried 
beyond  anything  in  La  Calprenede.  In  style  as  in  other 
respects  Tatius  influenced  La  Calprenede  the  most  strongly 
of  the  Greek  romance  writers.  This  description  of  a  grove 
(p.  367)  is  much  in  the  style  of  La  Calprenede : 

It  consisted  of  a  grove,  which  afforded  a  delightful  object  to 
the  eyes;  around  it  ran  a  wall,  each  of  the  four  sides  of  which  had 
a  colonnade  supported  upon  pillars,  the  central  space  being  planted 
with  trees,  whose  branches  were  so  closely  interwoven,  that  the 
fruits  and  foliage  intermingled  in  friendly  union.  Close  to  some 
of  the  larger  trees  grew  ivy  and  the  convolvulus;  the  latter  hanging 
from  the  plane-tree,  clustered  round  it,  with  its  delicate  foliage; 
the  former  twining  round  the  pine,  lovingly  embraced  its  trunk, 
so  that  the  tree  became  the  prop  of  the  ivy  and  the  ivy  furnished 
a  crown  for  the  tree. 

1  p.  268,  Bohn  ed. 

2  Autumn  is  described,  p.  285;   an  arbor,  p.  308;   a  garden,  p.  326. 


La  Calprenede's  Romances  49 

His  descriptions  of  women  are  not  unlike  those  of  La 
Calprenede.     The  heroine  is  described  as  follows  (p.  354) : 

Her  sparkling  eyes  had  a  pleasing  expression,  her  hair  was 
golden  hued,  short  and  curHng,  her  eyebrows  were  jet  black,  her 
cheeks  were  fair,  save  that  in  the  middle  they  had  a  tinge  border- 
ing upon  purple,  like  that  with  which  the  Lydian  women  stain  their 
ivory;  her  mouth  was  like  the  rose  when  it  begins  to  bud.^ 

And  as  with  La  Calpren^de's  heroines  she  is  most  beauti- 
ful when  in  tears   p.  464) : 

Upon  hearing  his  voice,  Leucippe  burst  into  tears,  and  appeared 
even  more  charming  than  before,  for  tears  give  permanency  and 
increased  expression  to  the  eyes,  either  rendering  them  more 
disagreeable,  or  improving  them  if  pleasing;  for  in  that  case  the 
dark  iris,  fading  into  lighter  hue,  resembles,  when  moistened  with 
tears,  the  head  of  a  gently  bubbhng  fount;  the  white  and  black 
growing  in  brilhancy  from  the  moisture  which  floats  over  the  sur- 
face, assume  the  mingled  shades  of  the  violet  and  narcissus, 
and  the  eye  appears  as  smiling  through  the  tears  which  are  con- 
fined within  its  lids.^ 

The  influence  of  Mile  Scudery  has  been  noted  in  the  course 
o£  the  analysis  of  the  style  of  Cleopatra.  Further  indications 
of  her  influence  are  to  be  found  in  the  introduction  of  verses 
and  of  discourses  on  such  topics  as  Prudence,  Modesty, 
Reservedness,  Severity,  Favors,  the  Art  of  Poetry,  and  the 
like.  This  loitering  in  conversation  for  its  own  sake,  the 
emphasizing  of  social  graces,  and  the  embroidering  of  the 
story  by  dainty  devices  are  essentially  of  the  Scudery  school. 
La  Calprenede  has  introduced  these  features  partly  in  recog- 
nition of  their  vogue — he  knew  they  would  delight  the  reader 
trained  in  threading  the  mazes  of  the  Land  of  Tender — and 
partly  because  they  lent  themselves  readily  to  a  story  fought 
out  in  the  drawing-rooms  rather  than  on  the  field  of  battle. 

1  Cf .  also  the  description  of  the  picture  of  Europa  with  which  the  romance 
opens. 

2  Cf.  Cleopatra,  Part  I.  pp.  35, 130;  Part  II,  pp.  181.  354,  356.  495.  530.  etc. 


50  Herbert  Wynford  Hill 

There  are  combats  and  battle  enough  to  be  sure  in  the  Cleo- 
patra, but  these  are  merely  the  frills  of  the  story;  the  outcome 
is  determined  by  the  king  who  pardons  the  hero  and  assigns 
the  rewards. 

THE   POPULARITY   OF   THE   HEROIC   ROMANCE 

In  a  curious  volume  entitled  Remarks  upon  Remarques:  Or, 
A  Vindication  of  the  Conversations  of  the  Town,  published  in 
London,  1673,  the  author  comments  on  the  ''mixture  of 
Tongues  with  the  French"  in  England: 

And  it's  true,  that  in  this  last  Age,  wherein  our  Nation  has 
outdone  all  others  in  the  superstructures  of  true  Science,  several 
terms  of  Art  have  mixed  with  our  ordinary  discourses,  which  by 
reason  of  their  easiness  to  intelligence,  can  hardly  be  avoided. 

And  it's  remarkable,  that  what  words  soever  our  Nation  has 
adopted,  they  are  most  significant  of  the  things  they  express,  and 
so  occasion  a  succinct  and  comprehensive  stile  in  our  Conversa- 
tion and  Writing. 

After  his  invectives  against  French,  he  kindly  says : 

That  Language  is  highly  necessary  to  all  that  frequent  Courts, 
and  that  have  to  do  in  the  important  affairs  of  the  World.  This 
startled  me,  when  he  says,  French  Tongue  is  necessary  to  Courtiers, 
and  those  concerned  in  important  affairs,  and  yet  not  to  you; 
whom  he  designed  and  advised  to  be  a  Hero. 

Nor  was  the  knowledge  of  French  confined  to  courtiers 
and  heroes.  Nearly  everyone  who  professed  an  education 
included  French  among  his  accomplishments.  Many  text- 
books of  French  were  published,  and  numerous  teachers 
assisted  in  disseminating  knowledge  of  this  popular  tongue.^ 
Thus  it  happened  that  French  literature  was  almost  as  well 
known  among  the  upper  classes  as  the  native  literature 
itself.  However,  although  the  knowledge  of  French  was 
considered  the  necessary  part  of  the  education  of  a  young 

1  Cf.  Charlanne,  Influence  frangaise  en  AngCeterre  au  XVII^  sikcle.  Part 
I,  Chap.  iii. 


La  Calprenede's  Romances  51 

girl  in  England,  not  everyone  could  read  the  language  with 
any  great  ease.  Thus  it  fell  about  that  England  was  flooded 
with  translations  of  French  plays  and  romances. ^  Howard 
in  The  Womans  Conquest  writes  (1671) : 

some  Poets  have  arrived  to  a  Convenient  reputation  yet  play'd 
the  Thieves, 

From  Poems  Histories  and  Romances, 

and  (in  Act  I,  scene  i,  p.  12)  we  learn 

I  have  drest  up  mine  out  of  Story  and  the 

Grand  Romances  of  our  Times  from  whence  I  have 

Drawn  some  noble  examples  of  Love  and  Constancy. 

And  by  1695  Motteux  was  able  to  write  with  truthfulness 
(Preface  to  Lovers  a  Jest) : 

I  would  borrow  from  my  own  countrymen,  but  Moli^re  and 
most  of  em  have  been  so  gleaned  that  there's  scarse  anything 
left. 

La  Calpren^de^s  romances  were  translated  into  English 
soon  after  their  appearance  in  French.  The  first  volumes 
of  Cleopatra  appeared  in  English  before  the  last  volumes 
were  completed  by  the  author,  and  both  romances  were 
widely  circulated. 

Cassandre  was  begun  in  1642  and  finished  in  1650.^ 
According  to  Jusserand^  it  was  first  published  in  English 
in  1652;^  according  to  Graesse  again  in  1661;  in  1676 
appeared  the  translation  by  Cotterell  in  folio;  in  1703  a 
translation  by  several   hands;    and   in  1725  a  reprint  of 

1  In  the  preface  to  Lisander  and  Calista,  1627,  we  are  told:  "This  French 
Knight  and  his  Lady  being  importimed,  contrary  to  their  design,  and  the 
fashion  of  this  time  (which  is  almost  all  French)  to  appeare  to  publicke  view 
in  this  their  English  habit,"  etc. 

2 1642-50  are  the  dates  generally  assigned;  and  Cotterell  in  the  preface 
to  the  Reader  speaks  of  it  as  a  ten  years'  story,  but  Grierson  gives  1645. 

2  P.  364,  The  Novel  in  the  Time  of  Shakespeare. 

*  Cf.  also  Charlanne,  Part  II,  chap,  vi,  who  describes  this  early  transla- 
tion of  the  first  three  parts  as  a  very  ordinary  one. 


52  Herbert  Wynford  Hill 

Cotterell's  1676  edition.  Cotterell  in  a  prefatory  address 
to  the  Reader  in  the  1676  edition  wrote  that,  ''Since  this 
Translation  of  Cassandra  was  put  into  the  Press,  the  begin- 
ning of  another  by  an  accurate  pen  hath  been  published 
to  the  World,''  but  I  can  find  no  trace  of  another  translation 
later  than  that  of  1661  to  which  this  might  refer.  The 
reference  is  in  all  probabilities  to  the  translation  of  1652. 

Cleopdtre  was  begun  in  1647  and  finished  in  1658.  The 
first  part  was  translated  by  Robert  Loveday  in  1652  under  the 
title  of  Hymens  Praeludia;  or  Loves  Master-piece;  being  the 
first  part  of  that  so  much  admir'd  Romance  entituled  Cleo- 
patra. The  second  part  was  translated  by  Loveday,  1653; 
the  third  by  Loveday,  1655;  the  seventh  by  J(ohn)  C(oles), 
1658;  the  eighth  by  J(ames)  W(ebb),  1658;  and  the  ninth 
to  twelfth,  inclusive,  by  J.  Davies.^  The  complete  transla- 
tion appeared  in  folio  in  1665,  a  compilation  of  the  transla- 
tion just  named,  to  which  was  added  the  translation  of  the 
fourth  to  sixth  parts  inclusive  by  Loveday.  In  1674  appeared 
in  folio,  two  volumes  bound  in  one  but  paged  separately, 
a  translation  by  Robert  Loveday.  ^ 

The  British  Museum  Catalogue  lists  the  following  editions: 
Cassandre:  1642,  1660,  1666;  translations  into  English: 
1676  (by  C.  Cotterell);  1703  (by  several  hands);  1725  (by 
Cotterell). 

Cleopdtre:  1647;  translations:  Cleopatra:  1652,  the 
first  part  (by  R.  Loveday) ;  1654  (the  second  part) ;  1655 
(the  third  part);  1658  (the  seventh  part  Englished  by  J 
C[oles]);  1658  (the  eighth  part  by  J  W[ebb]);  1665  (folio); 
1674  (folio).' 

1  Cf.  Charlanne,  pp.  391-92. 

2  This  is  the  translation  used  in  this  discussion;  all  page  references  are  to 
this  edition  unless  otherwise  stated. 

3  Translations  of  other  romances  that  might  be  mentioned  are  Gom- 
bauld's    Endymion    (1639);     Camus'    Iphigenes    (1652);     Desmartz's    Ariana 


La  Calpbenede's  Romances  53 

The  women  especially  were  infatuated  with  the  heroic 
romances.  Pepys'  wife  was  a  great  reader  of  the  romances 
and  bores  him  constantly  by  relating  parts  of  them,  "though 
nothing  to  the  purpose  nor  in  any  good  manner."  On 
November  16, 1668,  however,  he  brought  home  from  Martin, 
his  bookseller's,  a  copy  of  Cassandra,  and  with  this  he  was 
better  pleased;  he  tells  us  on  May  7,  1669, 

Thence  to  my  wife,  and  she  read  to  me  the  epistle  of  Cassandra, 
which  is  very  good  indeed;  and  the  better  to  her,  because  recom- 
mended by  Sheres.  ^ 

Dorothy  Osborne^  similarly  tried  to  encourage  Sir 
William  Temple  to  read  La  Calprenede: 

Have  you  read  Cleopatra?  I  have  six  tomes  of  it  here  that  I 
can  lend  you  if  you  have  not.  There  are  some  stories  in  it  that 
you  will  like  I  believe; 

and  in  her  next  letter : 

Since  you  are  at  leisure  to  consider  the  moon,  you  may  be 
enough  to  read  Cleopatra.  Therefore  I  have  sent  you  three  tomes. 
There  is  a  story  of  Artemise  that  I  will  recommend  to  you;  his 
disposition  I  like  extremely.  It  has  a  great  deal  of  gratitude  in 
it,  and  if  you  meet  with  Britomart,  pray  send  me  word  how  you 
like  him; 

and  soon  in  another  letter : 

I  have  sent  you  the  rest  of  Cleopatra.  You  will  meet  with  a 
story  in  these  parts  of  Cleopatra  that  pleased  me  more  than  any  I 
ever  read  in  my  life.  'Tis  of  one  Delie;  pray  give  me  your  opinion 
of  her  and  her  prince. 

Lady  Lurewell  in  Farquhar's  The  Constant  Couple  (1700, 
Act  III,  last  scene)  says: 

(1636,  1641):  Gomberville's  Polexander  (1647);  Scud6ry's  Ibrahim  (1652), 
Grand  Cyrus  {1653-55),  Clelia  (1656-61,  1Q78),  Almahide  (1677) ;  Vaiunoriere's 
The  Grand  Scipio  (1660). 

1  Cf.  also  II,  184;  II,  109;  II,  91,  etc.  (Braybrooke  ed.). 

2  In  a  letter  written  probably  In  1653  or  1654.  Cf .  The  Life  of  Sir  William 
Temple  by  Thomas  P.  Courtenay,  Vol.  II,  p.  288. 


54  Herbert  Wynford  Hill 

After  supper  I  went  to  my  chamber  and  read  Cassandra,  then 
went  to  bed  and  dreamt  of  it  all  night,  rose  in  the  morning  and 
made  verses.^ 

Many  were  the  verses  and  letters  inspired  by  the  heroic 
romances,  and  conversation  was  greatly  refined.  Dry  den 
in  the  epilogue  to  the  Conquest  of  Granada  remarks  that, 

Wit's  now  ariv'd  to  a  more  high  degree; 
Our  native  Language  more  refin'd  and  free. 
Our  Ladies  and  our  men  now  speak  more  wit 
In  conversation,  than  those  poets  writ.^ 

Pordage,  in  the  Epistle  Dedicatory  to  The  Siege  of  Baby- 
lon, wrote: 

Wit  is  refined,  and  Ingenuity  made  bright,  not  only  by  the 
Industry  of  Poets,  and  endeavours  of  the  Learned,  but  by  the 
example,  of  the  Court,  and  encouragement  of  Princes,  who  diffuse 
it  like  Light  to  all  that  know  them;  among  whom  your  Royal 
Highness,  as  a  Star  of  the  first  Magnitude,  shines,  with  the  splendor 
of  your  Mind,  and  enhghtens  the  Souls  of  others.^ 

The  influence  of  the  court,  where  the  refinements  of  the 
Hotel  de  Rambouillet^  were  practiced,  was  supported  by 
books  on  manners  and  conversation^  some  of  which  were 

1  Leonora  (Spectator,  April  12,  1711)  includes  in  her  library  "Cassandra, 
Cleopatra,  Astraea,  The  Grand  Cyrus:  with  a  pin  stuck  in  one  of  the  middle 
leaves." 

2  Cf.  also  his  Defense  of  the  Epilogue  appended  to  the  Conquest  of  Gra- 
nada, p.  172. 

5  Cf.  also  Genest,  I,  427,  where  the  Eari  of  Orrery  is  quoted  as  writing 
to  a  friend,  "I  have  now  finished  a  play  in  a  French  manner  because  I  heard 
the  King  declare  himself  more  in  favour  of  their  way  of  writing  than  ours." 

Camus  in  the  Dedicatory  Preface  to  Iphigenes  (translated  into  English 
by  Major  Wright  in  1652)  addresses  the  Rt.  Honorable  James  Earle  of  North- 
ampton: "  Neither  is  wanting  Valoiu-  accompanied  with  Honour  which  have 
been  the  marks  and  are  now  the  known  favorites  of  yotu*  virtuous  inclinations." 

^  Cf.  Cousin's  La  societe  frangaise  au  XV 11^  siecle,  d'apres  le  Grand  Cyrus 
de  Mile  de  Scudery. 

5  Edward  Phillips,  The  Beaus  Academy;  or  the  modern  and  genteel  way  of 
wooing  and  complimenting,  after  the  most  courtly  manner  in  which  is  drawn  to 
life  the  deportment  of  the  most  accomplished  lovers,  etc. 


La  Calprenede's  Romances  55 

drawn  directly  from  the  heroic  romances.^  Doubtless  it 
might  have  been  said  of  many  a  lady  as  in  Kingsmyll's 
Gallantry-a-la-Mode  (p.  41) : 

Did  you  affect  the  air  of  France 
Strait  her  discourse  was  all  Romance. 

Numerous  are  the  letters  in  heroic  style.  Nearly  all 
the  dedicatory  letters  prefaced  to  heroic  plays  were  in  the 
elevated  style.  Lee's  letter  to  the  Duchess  of  Portsmouth 
prefaced  to  Sophonisha  is  sufficiently  typical: 

But  above  all,  I  must  pay  my  adorations  to  your  Grace,  who 
as  you  are  the  most  Beautiful,  as  well  in  the  bright  appearances 
of  Body,  as  in  the  immortal  splendours  of  an  elevated  Soul,  did 
shed  mightier  influence  and  darted  on  me  a  largess  of  glory  answer- 
able to  your  stock  of  Beams,  etc. 

Love  correspondences  were  carried  on  under  assumed 
names  in  heroic  style.  Here  is  a  specimen  chosen  from  a 
volume  of  Miscellaneous  Letters  and  Essays  edited  by  Charles 
Gildoninl694  (p.  122): 

To  Acme,  before  I  had  seen  her. 

I  ought  not  in  Prudence  (Madam)  to  let  you  know  the  unreason- 
able extent  of  your  charms,  for  fear  it  destroy  the  Happiness  I  am 
at  in  your  Pitty;  Cruelty  and  Pride  being  generally  the  effect  of 
so  Unlimited  a  Power.  Yet,  since  you  cannot  pity,  without  know- 
ing the  Sufferer,  I  must  inform  you.  Divine  Maid,  that  I  have 
increas'd  the  number  of  your  Slaves,  without  so  much  as  the  pleasure 
of  seeing  you  for  all  the  Sighs  you  have  cost  me. 

Love  indeed  is  an  Offering  that  ought  to  be  laid  on  the  soft 
Altars  of  Beauty;  But,  Madam,  sure  never  was  by  any,  but  my 
self,  on  that  of  an  Unknown  Deity.  We  keep  the  Bleeding  Victims 
of  our  Hearts,  as  long  as  we  can,  and  only  yield  'em  up  to  the 
Irresistible  Force  of  the  present  Fair  One. 

This,  Madam,  is  the  common  condition  of  Lovers;  but  as  my 
passion  has  an  extraordinary  Object  in  you,  so  have  your  Beauties 

1  Cf.  Crane,  Les  heros  de  roman,  Introd.,  p.  113. 


56  Herbert  Wynford  Hill 

an  uncommom  Influence  on  me:  for  Charm'd  by  I  know  not  what 
Divine  Witchery ,  I  Sacrifice  my  poor  Heart  to  your  very  Name, 
without  putting  you  to  the  expence  of  one  kilhng  Look,  to  oblige  me 
to't;  Report  has  often  engag'd  the  Curiosity,  but  never  till  now  won 
the  Affections. 

The  first  mention  of  you  inspir'd  me  with  all  the  tender  thoughts 
of  Love;  and  being  obliged  to  personate  the  Lover  in  Print,  I  had 
Recourse  to  the  Divine  Idea,  I  had  formed  of  you,  Madam,  to 
qualifie  me  for  it;  you  were  the  only  Heavenly  Muse  that  I  invok'd, 
which  abundantly  furnished  me  with  all  the  Transporting  Raptures 
of  Love.  But  alas!  Madame,  while  I  too  much  gave  way  to 
Imagination,  it  carry'd  me  to  a  View  of  those  Joys,  none  but  you 
can  impart,  at  lest  too  charming  fair  one,  so  much  justice  is  due  to 
the  most  uncommon  of  Lovers,  as  to  permit  him  the  Blessing  of 
your  Conversion. 

Ah!  Madam,  excel  the  rest  of  your  Sex  in  Perfections  of  Mind, 
as  much  as  you  do  in  those  of  Body,  and  let  not  Pride  and  Cruelty 
level  you  with  'em;  like  a  lawful  Prince  maintain  the  Glory  of 
your  Empire,  by  the  happiness  of  your  vassals,  and  be  not  like  a 
Tyrant,  proud  of  their  Destruction,  at  least  permit  the  address 
of  the  greatest  of 

Slaves, 

Septimus 

[To  he  continued] 


LA  CALPRENEDE'S  ROMANCES  AND  THE 
RESTORATION  DRAMA 

By  Herbert  Wynford  Hill 

PART  11:1  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  CASSANDRA  AND  CLEO- 
PATRA ON  THE  RESTORATION  DRAMA 

The  English  heroic  play  is  generally  conceded  to  begin 
with  Davenant.2  The  Siege  of  Rhodes  possesses  many 
elements  of  the  heroic  play,^  and  Love  and  Honour  conforms 
even  more  closely  to  the  type.  Without  question,  also, 
many  of  the  elements  of  the  heroic  play  appeared  in  the 
English  drama  before  Davenant.*  Other  writers  of  heroic 
romances  than  La  Calprenede  aided  in  the  development  of 
the  heroic  play;  some  preceded  him.  Our  study,  however, 
is  concerned  with  La  Calprenede  and  begins  with  his  in- 
fluence on  Dryden  as  this  English  playwright  was  the  first 
to  afford  specific  evidence  of  indebtedness  to  the  author 
of  Cassandra  and  Cleopatra. 

The  mutual  resemblance  of  various  situations  and  inci- 
dents in  La  Calpren^de's  romances  was  pointed  out  in 
Part  I  of  this  study.    As  one  proceeds  through  the  pages  of 

1  Part  I  was  published  in  the  University  of  Nevada  Studies,  Vol.  II,  No.  3. 

2  Dryden  in  his  Essay  on  Heroic  Plays  prefixed  to  the  Conquest  of  Granada 
(Saintsbury  ed.  of  Works  of  Dryden  1883,  Vol.  IV,  p.  19)  writes:  "For  heroic 
plays,  in  which  only  I  have  used  it  without  the  mixture  of  prose,  the  first 
light  we  had  of  them,  on  the  English  theatre,  was  from  the  late  Sir  WiUiam 
Davenant." 

Cf.  also  The  English  Heroic  Play  by  Lewis  Nathaniel  Chase;  Beljame's 
Le  public  et  les  hommes  de  lettres  en  Angleterre  au  XVIII^  sihcle,  pp.  40  +  ; 
and  Charlanne's  Influence  frangaise  en  Angleterre  au  XVII^  siecle,  chap.  vii. 

3  Cf.  "  The  Rise  of  the  Heroic  Play,"  by  Professor  Child,  Modern  Language 
Notes,  Vol.  XIX,  p.  166. 

*  Cf.  Professor  Child's  article  just  cited;  and  also  Professor  Tupper's 
discussion  of  the  relation  of  the  heroic  play  to  the  romances  of  Beaimiont  and 
Fletcher,  Publications  of  the  Modern  Language  Association,  September,  1905, 
pp.  584  +. 

57 


58  Herbert  Wynford  Hill 

Cassandra  and  Cleopatra  he  j&nds  it  constantly  easier  to  fore- 
cast the  relations  that  will  be  established  among  the  characters 
in  the  successive  histories,  and  the  corresponding  reactions. 
Passing  directly  from  the  romances  to  some  of  Dryden's  plays, 
such  as  The  Indian  Queen,  The  Indian  Emperor,  and  The 
Conquest  of  Granada,  one  experiences  little  sense  of  change : 
the  types  of  characters  are  the  same,  the  characters  are 
related  in  the  same  way,  under  similar  circumstances  they 
do  the  same  things.  In  order  to  estimate  the  extent  of  this 
similarity  it  has  been  thought  best  to  present  first  a  com- 
posite romance  built  up  of  the  stock  situations  and  incidents 
of  Cassandra  and  Cleopatra,  and  to  endeavor  to  see  how 
closely  the  lines  of  the  plays  follow  the  pattern  of  the 
romances.     Such  a  romance  would  read  as  follows: 

I.  The  hero,  in  disguise  or  through  misfortune  reduced 
from  his  rightful  rank  and  heritage,  falls  violently 
in  love  with  the  daughter  or  protegee  of  the  obdurate 
ruler.  (This  is  the  case  in  the  main  and  dupUcating 
plots  of  Cassandra  and  Cleopatra  and  in  various  minor 
plots.  Cf.  Cassandra,  7,  120,  188,  347,  367,  etc.; 
Cleopatra,  Part  I,  pp.  56,  84,  218,  277,  319;  Part  II, 
pp.  127,  186,  431,  etc.y 

II.  The  hero  performs  wonders: 

1.  In  tournaments  (cf.  Cassandra,  12,  280,  etc.); 

2.  In  gladiatorial  combats  (cf.  Cassandra,  142+ ; 
Cleopatra,  Part  II,  pp.  424+); 

3.  In  single  and  mixed  combats,  not  in  battles. 
(These  are  innumerable); 

4.  In  battle  (cf.  Cassandra,  6,  29,  71,  77,  82,  189, 
285,  328,  347+,  426,  493,  529,  557,  etc.;  Cleopatra, 
Part  I,  pp.  120-29,  264;  Part  II,  pp.  129+,  etc.); 

1  The  page  references  are  to  Cotterell's  translation  of  Cassandra,  ed.  of 
1676,  and  Loveday's  translation  of  Cleopatra,  ed.  of  1674. 


La  Calprenede's  Romances  59 

5.  In  saving  the  life  of  the  ruler  (cf.  Cassandra,  43, 
100,  379,  etc.;  Cleopatra,  Part  II,  pp.  552,  etc.; 
Parti,  p.  183); 

6.  In  preserving  the  kingdom  from  ruin  (cf.  Cas- 
sandra, 29+,  347+,  379+,  etc.;  Cleopatra,  Part  I, 
pp.  215+,  183+,  150+ ;  Part  II,  pp.  146+,  etc.). 

III.  The  hero  scorns  all  rewards  save  the  hand  of  the 
heroine.     (This  is  invariably  the  case.) 

IV.  The  heroine's  hand  is  denied  him  because  of: 

1.  His  supposed  low  station  (cf.  Cassandra,  17,  77+, 
124;  Cleopatra,  Part  I,  pp.  247,  381,  etc.); 

2.  Hostility  to  his  family  (cf.  Cassandra,  397,  etc.; 
Cleopatra,  Part  I,  p.  298;  Part  II,  p.  197,  etc.); 

3.  The  promise  of  the  heroine  to  another  (cf.  Cas- 
sandra, 137,  347+,  etc.;  Cleopatra,  Parti,  pp.  129, 
225;  Part  II,  pp.  493,  513,  etc.). 

V.  The  hero  is  either: 

1.  Banished  (cf.  Cassandra,  111,  171,  etc.;  Cleopatra, 
Part  I,  pp.  138,  224,  384;  Part  II,  p.  139,  etc.);  or 

2.  Imprisoned  (cf.  Cassandra,  51,  78,  141,  397,  etc.; 
Cleopatra,  Part  I,  pp.  256,  299;  Part  II,  pp.  485, 
514,  545,  etc.). 

VI.  The  hero  is  brought  back  or  freed: 

1.  Through  his  own  efforts  (cf.  Cassandra,  144,  406, 
etc.;  Cleopatra,  Part  I,  pp.  309+,  265,  etc.);  or 

2.  By  the  heroine  (cf.  Cassandra,  144;  Cleopatra, 
Part  I,  p.  311;  Part  II,  pp.  35,  544,  etc.);  or 

3.  By  his  captors  who  need  his  services  (cf.  Cassan- 
dra, 79+,  556;  Cleopatra,  Part  I,  p.  264,  etc.). 

VII.  The  hero  further  illustrates  his  prowess  by: 

1.  Taking  the  weaker  side  in  combats  (this  is  a  very 
frequent  way  of  introducing  heroes) ; 


60  Herbert  Wynford  Hill 

2.  Going  to  the  opposite  side,  carrying  victory  with 
him  (Cassandra,  29;  Cleopatra,  pp.  150,  227+; 
Part  II,  pp.  145+,  etc.); 

3.  Killing  or  humiliating  his  rivals  (Cassandra,  123, 
138-f-,  203,  418,  551,  etc.;  Cleopatra,  Part  I,  pp. 
140,  230;  Part  II,  pp.  41,  146,  201,  etc.); 

4.  Saving  the  life  of  the  heroine  (Cassandra,  167,  178, 
203,  494;  Cleopatra,  Part  II,  pp.  91,  463+,  and 
note  below  under  "X"). 

VIII.  The  hero  further  illustrates  his  chivalry  by  courtesy  to 
his  enemies  (Cassandra,  108,  379,  433,  etc. ;  Cleopatra, 
Part  II,  pp.  367,  446+,  550+,  etc.). 

IX.  The  heroine  is  carried  off  by: 

1.  The  hero  (Cassandra,  426;  Cleopatra,  Part  I,  p.  217, 
etc.); 

2.  Unscrupulous  rivals  (Cassandra,  435,  439,  etc.; 
Cleopatra,  Part  I,  pp.  396+,  408+,  494,  529;  Part 
II,  pp.  95,  112,  463,  488,  etc.); 

3.  Pirates  (Cleopatra,  Part  I,  pp.  75,  206;  Part  II, 
pp.  53,258);  or 

4.  She  is  shipwrecked  (Cleopatra,  Part  I,  pp.  211,  473, 
523;  Part  II,  pp.  114,  344,  523). 

X.  She  is  rescued : 

1.  By  the  hero  (Cassandra,  178,  438,493;  Cleopatra, 
Part  I,  pp.  204,  414,  533;  Part  II,  pp.  463+,  etc.); 

2.  By  her  own  efforts  (Cassandra,  445;  Cleopatra, 
Part  I,  p.  211,  etc.). 

XI.  The  wicked  woman: 

1.  Attempts  to  kill  the  heroine  (Cassandra,  243+, 
553+); 

2.  Stirs  up  the  heroine's  jealousy  by  slandering  the 
hero  or  making  love  to  him  (Cassandra,  25+,  84+). 


La  Calprenede's  Romances  61 

XII.  The  unscrupulous  rival: 

1.  Attempts  to  kill  the  hero  (Cassandra,  225,  551, 
557+,  etc.;  Cleopatra,  Part  I,  p.  140;  Part  II, 
pp.  360+,  462+); 

2.  Slanders  him  or  the  heroine  (Cassandra,  195, 
229+;  Cleopatra,  Part  I,  p.  102;  Part  II,  pp. 
358+,  etc.). 

XIII.  The  difficulties  are  solved  wholly  or  in  part  by: 

1.  The  hero,  who  conquers  his  enemies  or  reveals 
his  identity  (Cassandra,  557,  562;  Cleopatra,  Part 
II,  pp.  526+,  etc.); 

2.  The  ruler,  who  gives  in  or  is  killed  (Cassandra,  433; 
Cleopatra,  Part  II,  pp.  567+,  570,  etc.); 

3.  The  generous  rival,  who  sacrifices  himself  for  the 
hero; 

4.  The  wicked  woman,  who  assists  the  hero  (Cas- 
sandra, 557). 

The  Indian  Queen^ 

In  January,  1664,  The  Indian  Queen  appeared  at  the 
Theatre  Royal  "with  great  splendour  and  marked  success. "^ 
The  play  was  the  joint  production  of  Dry  den  and  his  brother- 
in-law.  Sir  Robert  Howard.  Just  how  much  of  the  play 
Dryden  wrote  is  difficult  to  estimate,  but  probably  a  con- 
siderable portion.^ 

The  play  was  first  published  under  the  cover  of  Four  New 
Plays,  together  with   The  Surprisal,   The  Committee,   The 

1  The  title-page  of  this  first  edition  reads:  "The  Indian  Queen,  a  Tragedy, 
London,  Printed  for  H.  Herringman,  at  the  Blew  Anchor  in  the  Lower  Walk 
of  the  New  Exchange.     1665." 

2  EveljTi  (February  5,  1664)  compliments  it  as  the  best  play  he  has  seen 
in  a  mercenary  theater.  Pepys  (February  1,  1664)  thought  it  was  spoiled  by 
the  rhyme.  For  an  account  of  some  of  the  splendors  of  scenery  read  the 
epilogue. 

'  Cf.  preface  to  The  Indian  Emperor,  where  Dryden  referring  to  The 
Indian  Queen  says,  "part  of  which  poem  was  writ  by  me." 


62  Herbert  Wynford  Hill 

Vestal  Virgin.  The  incidents  and  situations  are  those  of 
La  Calpren^de's  romances,  and  their  arrangement  is  much 
the  same.     They  are  as  follows: 

1.  The  hero  through  misfortune  reduced  from  his  right- 
ful rank  falls  violently  in  love  with  the  daughter  of  the 
obdurate  ruler. 

2.  The  hero  performs  wonders:  (a)  in  battle;  (6)  in 
preserving  the  kingdom  from  ruin. 

3.  The  hero  scorns  all  rewards  save  the  hand  of  the 
heroine. 

4.  The  heroine's  hand  is  denied  him  because  of  his  sup- 
posed low  station. 

5.  The  hero  is  threatened  with  imprisonment. 

6.  But  he  escapes. 

7.  The  hero  further  illustrates  his  prowess  by:  (a)  going 
to  the  other  side  carrying  victory  with  him;  (6)  saving  the 
life  of  the  heroine;   (c)  saving  the  life  of  the  obdurate  ruler. 

8.  The  ruler^  claims  the  captive  king  and  heroine,  and, 
the  hero  objecting  to  this, 

9.  Puts  him  into  chains. 

10.  The  wicked  woman:  (a)  attempts  to  kill  the  hero: 
but  (6)  falls  in  love  with  him  and  cannot  carry  out  her 
purpose. 

11.  The  wicked  woman  tries  to  kill  the  heroine. 

12.  The  unscrupulous  rival  tries  to  kill  the  hero. 

13.  In  a  single  scene  the  wicked  woman  and  the  unscrupu- 
lous rival  mutually  protect  the  hero  and  the  heroine  from 
each  other. 

14.  The  hero  and  the  heroine  are  freed  by  the  generous 
rival. 

15.  The  hero  and  the  generous  rival  fight  a  duel. 

1  Not  the  obdurate  ruler  of  "  1,"  but  the  usurping  Queen  of  Mexico.  As 
a  stock  character  she  corresponds  to  the  wicked  woman  of  the  romances. 


La  Calpeenede's  Romances  63 

16.  The  hero  and  the  heroine  are  recaptured  and  con- 
demned to  die  before  the  altar. 

17.  The  generous  rival  sacrifices  himself  to  save  the 
hero  and  the  heroine. 

18.  The  wicked  woman  cuts  the  bonds  of  the  hero,  and 
arms  him  with  a  dagger. 

19.  The  hero  kills  the  unscrupulous  rival. 

20.  A  revolution  puts  the  hero  in  power. 

21.  The  wicked  woman  stabs  herself. 

These  situations  and  incidents  are  arranged  in  the  order 
of  presentation  in  the  play  given;  given  the  notation  of  the 
composite  romance  they  will  fall  into  the  following  pattern: 
I;  II  4,  6;  III;  IV  1;  V  2;  VI  1;  VII  2,  4;  II  5;  (8  not 
conventional);  V  2;  (10  not  conventional);  XI  1;  XII  1; 
(13  not  conventional);  XIII  3;  (15  conventional  although 
not  listed) ;  (16  conventional  in  part  but  not  listed) ;  XIII 
3;  XIII  4;  VII  3;  (20  conventional  but  not  listed);  (21 
conventional  but  not  listed). 

Sixteen  of  them  fall  into  the  Romance  pattern.  Five  of 
these  sixteen  occur  in  the  main  plots  and  in  the  two  support- 
ing plots  of  both  Cassandra  and  Cleopatra,  and  the  others 
repeatedly  in  the  main  or  supporting  plots.  The  remaining 
five  of  the  twenty-one  parallel  more  or  less  closely  single 
incidents  and  situations  found  in  one  or  the  other  of  the  two 
romances.^  One  of  these  five  follows  the  romance  in  such 
detail  as  to  indicate  that  it  was  drawn  directly  from  La  Cal- 

1  These  five  are  listed  respectively  in  our  outline  8,  10,  13,  16,  18.  The 
eighth  is  paralleled  in  Cleopatra  where  Tigranes  refvises  Artaban  the  right  to 
dispose  of  Elisa  and  her  mother.  The  tenth  is  paralleled  in  Cassandra  by 
Roxana,  who  experiences  similar  difflculty  with  the  hero;  and  cf.  also  Cleopatra, 
Part  II,  p.  295.  The  sixteenth  is  common  enough  in  La  Calprenede  except 
for  the  added  detail  of  the  place  of  the  execution — before  the  altar.  This 
featiu-e  is  introduced  as  local  color.  [In  Heliodorus  Aethiopica  (pp.  256  +) 
Theagenes  and  Cariclea  are  condemned  to  die  as  sacrifices  before  the  altar.] 
The  eighteenth  is  closely  paraUeled  in  Cassandra  (p.  557),  where  Koxana  sets 
the  hero  free  and  arms  him. 


64  Herbert  Wynford  Hill 

prenede;  this  is  the  one  listed  as  13,  where  the  wicked  woman 
and  the  unscrupulous  rival  mutually  protect  the  hero  and 
heroine  from  death  at  the  hands  of  the  other. 

For  the  wicked  woman  to  attempt  the  life  of  the  heroine, 
or  for  the  unscrupulous  rival  to  attempt  the  life  of  the  hero  is 
nothing  unusual;  in  fact,  these  are  the  commonest  of  stock 
incidents.  Nor  is  the  motive  back  of  the  attempt  un- 
usual; either  the  wicked  woman  or  the  unscrupulous  woman 
frequently  attempts  to  force  the  love  of  the  hero  or  heroine 
respectively  by  threatening  the  mistress  or  lover.  But  so 
far  as  I  know  La  Calprenede  in  Cassandra  was  the  first  to 
weave  the  two  together.  In  the  management  of  the  scene 
the  play  follows  the  romance  closely.  In  both,  the  scene 
occurs  in  prison;  the  hero  and  heroine  are  prisoners;  the 
unscrupulous  rival  draws  his  sword  to  kill  the  hero,  and  is 
prevented  from  killing  the  hero  by  the  wicked  woman's 
similarly  threatening  the  heroine;  the  hero  and  heroine 
scoff  at  death  for  themselves,  but  fear  it  for  the  other;  the 
wicked  woman  and  the  unscrupulous  rival  now  change 
places,  the  one  protecting  the  hero,  the  other  the  heroine; 
the  scene  closes  with  no  one  being  hurt.  Such  sequences  of 
detail  could  hardly  be  accidental. 

The  characters  also  are  the  stock  characters  of  Cleopatra 
and  Cassandra.  In  Montezuma  we  have  the  type  of  hero 
identical  with  Oroondates  and  Artaban — invincible,  match- 
less, of  dauntless  spirit  and  ungovernable  pride.  His 
fortunes  are  those  of  Artaban  rather  than  of  Oroondates :  he 
has  been  raised  obscurely,  ignorant  of  his  high  birth;  as  a 
free  lance  he  goes  from  one  side  to  the  other  carrying  victory. 
The  Inca  is  the  counterpart  of  La  Calprenede's  obdurate 
ruler.  Acaces  is  the  stock  generous  rival  carried  to  extremes; 
Traxalla  is  the  unscrupulous  rival,  less  fully  developed. 
Zempoalla  is  the  type  of  the  unscrupulous  woman  rival  for 


La  Calprenede's  Romances  65 

the  hand  of  the  hero.  And  the  heroine  is  the  starry-eyed 
beauty,  languishing,  but  courageous  when  need  be,  and 
faithful  at  all  costs. 

The  Indian  Emperor^ 

The  Indian  Emperor,  which  Dryden  wrote  as  a  sequel  to 
The  Indian  Queen,  was  received  even  more  favorably  and 
ran  through  more  editions.  In  the  preface  dedicating  the 
play  to  Princess  Anne,  Dryden  begins  by  saying,  ''The 
favour  which  Heroick  Plays  have  lately  found  upon  our 
Theatres,  has  been  wholly  deriv'd  to  them  from  the  counte- 
nance and  approbation  they  have  received  at  Court" — a 
statement  in  the  conventional,  self-deprecatory  vein,  but 
possessing  a  certain  element  of  truth.  Dryden  himself, 
however,  was  as  much  responsible  as  any  other  single  writer 
for  establishing  the  vogue  of  the  heroic  play. 

In  the  prologue  we  are  informed  that 

The  Scenes  are  old,  the  Habits  are  the  same, 
We  wore  last  year  before  the  Spaniards  came. 

This  is  ridiculously  apposite;  the  two  plays  are  wonder- 
fully alike,  although  not  so  much  in  the  habits  and  scenes 
as  in  the  situations  and  incidents.  The  types  of  characters 
are  the  same  although  of  surprising  descent.  It  is  with  no 
small  astonishment  that  we  identify  our  Artaban — hero  of 
The  Indian  Queen — with  the  Montezuma  of  history.  As 
soon  as  the  machinery  gets  under  way  we  discover  the  real 

1  The  first  edition  was  published  1667.  The  editions  available  to  me 
were,  1668  (2d  ed.),  1670  (3d  ed.),  1681,  1686,  1692,  1694,  1696,  1703,  1709, 
1710,  1732.  The  British  Museum  Catalogue  enumerates  the  editions,  1667. 
1668,  1670,  1686,  1703. 

The  title-page  of  the  second  edition  (1668)  reads:  "The  Indian Emperour, 
or.  The  Conquest  of  Mexico  by  the  Spaniards.  Being  the  Sequel  of  The  Indian 
Queen.     By  John  Dryden  Esq;    The  Second  Edition. 

Dum  relego  scripsisse  pudet,  quia  plurima  cemo 
Me  quoque,  qui  feci,  judice  digna  lini. — Ovid, 

London,  Printed  for  H.  Herringman,  at  the  Sign  of  the  Blew  Anchor  in  the 
Lower  walk  of  the  New  Exchange.     1668," 


66  Herbert  Wynford  Hill 

Artaban  in  the  character  of  Cortez,  and  our  Statira-Cleopa- 
tra-Orazia,  heroine  under  the  dusky  skin  of  an  Indian 
princess. 

The  situations  and  incidents  are  as  follows: 

The  main  plot, — 

1.  The  ruler  is  in  love  with  the  wicked  woman. 

2.  The  hero  falls  violently  in  love  with  the  daughter  of 
the  ruler. 

3.  The  heroine  prevails  upon  the  hero  to  exercise  clem- 
ency toward  the  enemy. 

4.  The  unscrupulous  rival  attempts  treacherously  to  kill 
the  hero. 

5.  The  hero  saves  the  life  of  the  unscrupulous  rival. 

6.  The  hero  humiliates  the  unscrupulous  rival  in  a  duel, 

7.  But  courteously  grants  him  his  life  when  he  has  him 
at  his  mercy. 

8.  The  hero  kills  the  unscrupulous  rival. 

9.  The  hero  is  captured  and  imprisoned. 

10.  The  wicked  woman  attempts  to  kill  the  hero  but  falls 
in  love  with  him  and  cannot  carry  out  her  purpose. 

11.  The  wicked  woman  stirs  up  the  jealousy  of  the  heroine 
by  making  love  to  the  hero. 

12.  The  wicked  woman  attempts  to  kill  the  heroine. 

13.  The  heroine  is  saved  by  the  hero. 

14.  The  hero  is  rescued  by  his  own  men,  who  have  been 
treacherously  admitted  to  the  prison. 

15.  The  heroine  is  put  into  a  tower  by  the  hero  for  safe 
keeping. 

16.  The  ruler  is  captured  by  the  hero's  forces. 

17.  The  ruler  is  tortured. 

18.  The  hero  saves  the  ruler's  life. 

19.  The  ruler,  facing  ruin  and  realizing  the  perfidy  of  his 
mistress,  the  wicked  woman,  stabs  himself. 


La  Calprenede's  Romances  67 

20.  The  wicked  woman  in  a  tower-top  within  sight  of  the 
hero  again  attempts  the  life  of  the  heroine. 

21.  The  heroine  is  saved  by  fate,  the  wound  proving  not 
fatal. 

22.  The  wicked  woman  stabs  herself. 
The  subplot. — 

1.  The  heroine  is  loved  by  two  suitors,  the  hero  and  the 
unscrupulous  rival. 

2.  The  heroine  promises  her  hand  to  the  one  who  dis- 
plays most  courage  in  battle. 

3.  The  hero  is  captured  in  battle. 

4.  He  is  freed  by  the  hero  of  the  main  plot. 

5.  The  heroine  tempts  her  suitors  to  sacrifice  honor  for 
love,  (a)  The  hero  refuses;  (b)  The  unscrupulous  rival 
makes  the  sacrifice. 

6.  The  unscrupulous  rival  joins  with  one  of  the  enemy  in 
a  vow  to  help  each  other  win  the  objects  of  their  passion. 

7.  The  unscrupulous  rival  captures  the  heroine  and  the 
hero. 

8.  The  unscrupulous  rival  tries  to  force  the  hand  of  the 
heroine  by  threatening  the  life  of  the  hero.^ 

9.  The  unscrupulous  rival  and  his  confederate  discover 
the  object  of  their  passion  to  be  one  and  the  same  woman, 
the  heroine.^ 

10.  The  confederate  kills  the  unscrupulous  rival. 

11.  The  hero  kills  the  confederate. 

In  the  notation  of  the  composite  romance  the  main  plot 
will  read:  (1  not  conventional);  I;  (3  conventional  but  not 
listed);  XII  1;  VIII;  VII  3;  VIII;  VII  3;  V  2;  (10  not 
conventional);  XI  2;  XI  1;  VII  4;  (14  not  conventional); 
IX  1  (with  modifications) ;  (16  conventional  but  not  listed) ; 

1  Cf .  Cassandra,  552+;    Cleopatra,  Part  II,  p.  510,  etc. 

2  Boyle  in  Tryphon,  acted  at  Lincoln's  Inn  Fields,  1668  (pr.  1669),  uses 
the  same  situation  with  the  characters  Demetrius,  Tryphon,  Stratonice. 


68  Herbert  Wynford  Hill 

(17  not  conventional);  II  5;  (19  not  conventional);  XI  1 
(with  modification);    (21  and  22  not  conventional). 

In  the  main  plot,  then,  fifteen  of  the  situations  and  inci- 
dents are  conventional  with  La  Calprenede.  Of  the  remain- 
ing seven,  two  are  found  in  Cassandra  or  Cleopatra.^  Of  the 
remaining  five  all  but  one  (Number  22)  have  parallels  more 
or  less  close  in  Cassandra  or  Cleopatra.  Number  14  is  the 
commonest  of  conventional  incidents  except  for  the  means 
used  to  secure  admission  to  the  prison.  There  is  a  torture 
scene  in  Cleopatra,  Part  I,  pp.  438+.  Number  19  is  paralleled 
in  Cleopatra  Part  II,  p.  278,  except  for  the  detail  of  the  per- 
fidious mistress.2  For  the  heroine  to  recover  from  a  wound 
is  not  unusual. 

Twelve  of  these  are  found  in  The  Indian  Queen.  Number 
22  is  the  only  one  common  to  the  two  plays  not  found  in  the 
romances. 

In  the  subplot  the  initial  situation  and  most  of  the  inci- 
dents are  conventional.  The  complication  effected  through 
making  two  unscrupulous  rivals  join  forces  to  win  the  object 
of  their  passion  not  knowing  that  she  is  one  and  the  same, 
has  no  original  in  Cassandra  or  Cleopatra.^  The  struggle 
between  love  and  honor  is  of  course  a  common  heroic- 
romance  theme  ;^  Dry  den  introduced  it  into  the  subplot 
to  ennoble  the  conduct  of  the  hero  of  the  main  plot  under 
similar  temptation. 

1  These  are  numbers  1  and  10.  Number  10  has  been  discussed  above 
under  The  Indian  Queen,  10.  Number  1  has  a  parallel  in  the  love  of  Alexander 
for  Roxana  in  Cassandra. 

» The  incident,  however,  bears  a  much  closer  resemblance  to  the  death 
of  Traxalla  in  The  Indian  Queen  (Act  V,  scene  1). 

5  Boyle  in  Tryphon  acted  in  the  following  year  (1668,  printed  1669)  used 
the  same  complication  for  the  characters  Demetrius,  Tryphon,  Stratonice. 
The  characters  in  Boyle's  play  are  for  the  most  part  the  stock  heroic-romance 
characters,  and  many  of  his  incidents  and  situations  are  conventional. 

*  In  Cleopatra,  Part  II,  pp.  437  +,  there  is  a  scene  that  approaches  the 
scene  in  The  Indian  Emperor  where  AUbech  tempts  Guyomar. 


La  Calprenede's  Romances  69 

The  characters  of  The  Indian  Emperor  are  the  stock 
heroic-romance  characters  already  famiUar  to  us  through 
the  pages  of  The  Indian  Queen.  Montezuma,  the  hero  of 
The  Indian  Queen,  is  translated  into  the  obdurate  ruler  of 
The  Indian  Emperor.  Cortez  is  the  conventional  heroic- 
romance  hero;  Cydaria  is  in  all  respects  the  conventional 
heroic-romance  heroine;  Almeria  is  the  worthy  successor 
to  Zempoalla,  her  unscrupulous  mother.  In  the  subplot, 
Guyomar  the  hero,  Odmar  the  unscrupulous  rival,  and  Ali- 
bech  the  heroine,  are  sufficiently  typical  to  need  no  introduc- 
tion. These  types  soon  appear  again  in  Dryden^s  next 
play.  The  Conquest  of  Granada,  and  with  renewed  youth  and 
increased  enthusiasm  perform  similar  exploits. 

The  Conquest  of  Granada 

In  1670  there  appeared  at  the  Theatre  Royal  Dry  den's 
The  Conquest  of  Granada.  In  1672  it  was  published,^  and  so 
great  was  the  demand  that  the  next  year  another  edition 
appeared,  and  by  1704  it  had  run  through  its  sixth  edition.^ 
The  situations  and  incidents  of  the  main  plot  are  as  follows : 

1.  The  hero  through  misfortune  reduced  from  his  right- 
ful rank  falls  violently  in  love  with  the  protegee  of  the 
obdurate  ruler.^ 

1  The  title-page  of  the  first  edition  reads:  "The  Conquest  of  Granada 
By  The  Spaniards:  In  Two  Parts.  Acted  at  the  Theatre-Royall.  Written 
by  John  Dryden  Servant  to  His  Majesty. 

Major  rerum  mihi  nascitiu*  Ordo; 

Majus  Opus  moveo. — ^Virg.  Aeneid  7. 
In  the  Savoy,  Printed  by  T.  N.  for  Henry  Herringman,  and  are  to  be  sold  at 
the  Anchor  in  the  Lower  Walk  of  the  New  Exchange.     1672." 

2  The  editions  in  their  order  were:  1672,  1673,  1678,  1687,  1695,  1704; 
unless  otherwise  specified,  the  page  references  are  to  the  first  edition. 

8  The  circumstances  attending  the  falling  in  love  are  exactly  those  of 
Cassandra  where  Oroondates  falls  in  love  with  Statira,  whom  he  has  captured, 
and  those  of  Cleopatra  where  Artaban  falls  in  love  with  EUsa,  whom  he  has 
captured  (cf.  Cassandra,  7 +,  and  Cleopatra,  Part  I,  pp.  217 +).  The  first 
view  the  audience  has  of  the  hero  is  where  he  involxmtarily  rushes  to  the 
aid  of  the  weaker  party  in  combat;  this  is  La  CalprenSde's  favorite  way  of 
introducing  his  heroes;  in  fact,  all  of  his  principal  heroes  are  so  introduced 
and  many  minor  heroes. 


70  Herbert  Wynford  Hill 

2.  The  hero  performs  wonders:  (a)  in  amusement  con- 
tests;^ (6)  in  single  or  mixed  combats;  (c)  in  battle;  (d)  in 
preserving  the  kingdom  from  ruin;  (e)  in  rescuing  the  heroine 
from  his  unscrupulous  rival.^ 

3.  The  hero  scorns  all  rewards  save  the  hand  of  the 
heroine. 

4.  The  heroine's  hand  is  denied  him  because  of  the 
promise  of  her  hand  to  another.^ 

5.  The  hero  is  imprisoned.^ 

1  The  incident  of  the  bull  fight  was  probably  suggested,  as  Langbaine 
claims,  by  Guzman's  Juego  de  Toros  y  Cannas,  the  story  of  Ozmin  and  Doraxia, 
Part  I,  pp.  82  +.  Amusement  contests  such  as  tournaments  and  gladiatorial 
combats  are  to  be  foimd  in  La  Calpren6de's  romances.  A  curious  criticism 
of  this  incident  is  found  in  a  pamphlet  pubUshed  in  1673,  The  Censure  of  the 
Rota,  written  by  Richard  Leigh:  "Amongst  severall  other  late  Exercises  of  the 
Athenian  Vertuosi  in  the  Coffee- Academy  instituted  by  Apollo  for  the  advance- 
ment of  Gazette  Philosophy  Merciu-y's,  Diumalls,  etc;  this  day  was  wholly 
taken  up  in  the  Examination  of  the  Conquest  of  Granada;  a  Gentleman  on 
the  reading  of  the  First  Part,  and  therein  the  Description  of  the  Bull-baiting, 
said,  that  Almanzor's  playing  at  the  Bxill  was  according  to  the  Standard 
of  the  Greek  Heroes,  who,  as  Mr.  Dryden  had  learnedly  observed  [Essay  of 
Dramatique  poetry,  p.  25]  were  great  Beef-Eaters.  And  why  might  not 
Ahnanzor  as  well  as  Ajax,  or  Don  Qmxot  worry  Mutton,  or  take  a  BuU  by 
the  Throat,  since  the  Author  had  elsewhere  explain' d  himself e  by  telling  us 
the  Heroes  were  more  noble  Beasts  of  Prey,  in  his  Epistle  to  his  Conquest  of 
Granada,  distinguishing  them  into  wild  and  tame,  and  in  his  play  we  have 
Almanzor  shaking  his  chaine,  and  frightening  his  keeper  p.  28.  broke  loose, 
p.  64.  and  tearing  those  that  would  reclaim  his  rage,  p.  135.  To  this  he  added 
that  his  Bulls  excell'd  others  Heroes,  as  far  as  his  own  Heroes  surpassed  his 
Gods:  that  the  Champion  Bull  was  divested  of  flesh  and  blood,  and  made 
immortal  by  the  poet,  and  bellow'd  after  death;  that  the  fantastique  Bull 
seem'd  fiercer  than  the  true,  and  the  dead  bellowings  in  Verse,  were  louder 
then  the  living;  ....  a  third  went  on  and  told  them  Fighting  Scenes  and 
Representations  of  Battells  were  as  necessary  to  a  Tragedy  as  Cudgells,  and 
broken  pates  to  a  Country  Wake;  that  an  Heroick  Poem  never  soimded  so 
nobly,  as  when  it  was  heightened  with  Shouts,  and  Clashing  of  Swords,  and 
that  Drums  and  Trumpets  gain'd  an  absolute  Dominion  over  the  minds  of 
the  Audience:    (the  Ladies  and  Female  Spirits)." 

»  Cf.  Cleopatra,  Part  I,  pp.  213-48,  where  Artaban  imder  similar  circmn- 
stances  recaptures  Elisa  from  Phraates. 

8  She  is  betrothed  to  the  ruler  himself.  Under  the  same  circumstances 
Artaban  is  refused  Elisa  because  the  ruler  is  in  love  with  her  (cf.  Cleopatra, 
Part  I,  pp.  248+). 

4  This  time  because  of  his  audacious  request.  Earlier  in  the  play  he 
has  been  captured  by  the  ruler.  Time  and  again  he  is  on  the  point  of  being 
captured.     All  of  this  is  in  the  most  approved  heroic-romance  vein. 


La  Calprenede's  Romances  71 

6.  He  is  freed  through  the  intercession  of  the  heroine, 

7.  But  banished. 

8.  The  hero  has  previously  illustrated  his  prowess  by- 
changing  sides  ;^  now  his  mere  absence  is  sufficient  to  bring 
defeat  to  the  ruler. 

9.  The  hero  is  brought  back:^  (a)  through  the  need  of  his 
services;  (6)  through  the  demand  of  the  people;^  (c)  through 
the  command  of  the  heroine.^ 

10.  Through  the  gift  of  a  scarf  to  the  hero,  the  heroine 
increases  the  jealousy  of  the  ruler. ^ 

11.  The  hero  further  illustrates  his  prowess:  (a)  by 
rescuing  the  ruler  from  the  enemy;®  (6)  by  protecting  the 
heroine. 

12.  The  unscrupulous  rival  attempts  to  abduct  the 
heroine.^ 

1  The  first  time  on  the  refusal  of  the  ruler  to  free  a  captive,  and  a  second 
time  for  the  same  reason.  In  the  second  case  the  captive  is  the  heroine,  and 
the  hero  returns  to  the  side  of  the  legitimate  ruler  to  recaptiu-e  the  heroine 
from  the  usurping  niler.  This  course  is  closely  paralleled  by  Artaban's 
conduct  in  Cleopatra,  Part  I,  pp.  213-48.  Dryden  in  his  Essay  on  Heroic  Play* 
prefaced  to  The  Conquest  of  Granada,  justified  Almanzor  by  appeal  to  Homer 
and  Tasso.  As  further  justification,  early  in  the  play,  we  note  that  Almanzor 
has  contracted  the  habit  of  changing  sides  before  his  appearance  in  Granada. 

2  With  Part  II  the  central  situation  is  somewhat  changed  by  the  mar- 
riage of  the  heroine  to  the  ruler.  The  situation  in  Part  I  more  closely  resem- 
bles the  groimd  pattern  of  Cleopatra;  in  Part  II,  the  pattern  of  Cassandra, 
where  the  heroine  is  married  to  the  ruler. 

3Cf.  Cleopatra,  Part  II,  p.  312,  and  Cleopatra,  Part  II,  pp.  498-505; 
where  Caesario  and  Artaban  are  in  similar  demand. 

4  The  impUcit  obedience  of  the  hero  to  every  command  of  the  heroine 
save  where  honor  is  involved  is  the  stock  trait  of  La  Calprengde's  heroes. 
Dryden  had  also  in  mind  Achilles. 

5  In  his  presentation  of  a  jealous  husband  Dryden  was  not  influenced 
to  any  considerable  extent  by  La  Calprenede.  In  Cleopatra  the  jealousy  of 
the  hero  is  aroused  through  the  steaUng  of  a  scarf  from  the  heroine.  The 
theme  of  the  jealous  husband  is  presented  by  La  Calpren6de  in  the  following 
histories:  Theander  and  Alcione  (Cassandra,  218-37);  Tyridates  and  Mari- 
amne  (Cleopatra,  Part  I,  pp.  1-32,  438-50);  and  Zenodorus  (Cleopatra,  P&vt 
II,  p.  248). 

«  Oroondates  rescues  from  drowning  the  husband  of  the  heroine;  cf . 
Cassandra,  99  +. 

^  Cf.  above,  this  same  synopsis,  under  2e. 


72  Herbert  Wynford  Hill 

13.  She  is  rescued  by  the  generous  suitor  for  the  hand 
of  the  wicked  woman. 

14.  The  wicked  woman:  (a)  makes  love  to  the  hero; 
(h)  charges  the  heroine  with  adultery.^ 

15.  The  heroine  is  cleared  of  the  charge:  (a)  by  a  trial- 
by-combat  ;^  (6)  by  the  dying  confession  of  the  unscrupulous 
rival. 

16.  The  difficulties  are  solved  by:  (a)  the  death  of  the 
unscrupulous  rival  at  the  hands  of  the  hero;  (6)  the  death 
of  the  ruler  killed  in  battle;  (c)  the  death  of  the  wicked 
woman;   (d)  the  revelation  of  the  identity  of  the  hero.^ 

The  incidents  in  the  notation  of  the  heroic  romance  will 
read:  I;  II  2  (modified);  II  3,  4,  6,  X  1;  III;  IV  3;  V  2; 
VI  2;  VI;  VII  2  (modified;  cf.  note  on  8);  VI  3,  (9b  and 
9c,  cf.  note);  (10,  cf.  note);  II  5  (lib  conventional);  1X2 
(modified);  (13  not  conventional);  XI  2  (modified);  (14b 
cf.  note);  (15a,  b,  not  in  Cassandra  or  Cleopatra);  VII  3, 
XIII  2,  (16c  not  in  Cassandra  or  Cleopatra);  XIII  1. 

Of  these  twenty-eight  situations  and  incidents,  seven- 
teen fall  into  the  conventional  pattern;  and,  with  slight 
modification,  five  more.  Two  additional  ones  have  parallels 
in  one  or  the  other  of  the  romances.  Of  the  remaining  four, 
one  is  not  conventional  but  unimportant,  and  three  are 
conventional  with  other  romances,  although  not  occurring 
in  Cassandra  or  Cleopatra. 

The  outline  as  presented  above  includes  the  situations  and 
incidents  of  the  main  plot  which  immediately  concern  the 
fortunes  of  the  hero  and  heroine.  In  developing  the  main 
plot  Dryden  elaborated  the  character  of  the  wicked  woman 

1  In  the  story  of  Tyridates-Mariamne  {Cassandra,  438-50),  the  wicked 
woman  charges  the  heroine  with  adultery. 

2  This  is  no  new  device,  but  was  not  used  by  La  CalprenSde. 

3  Although  this  is  a  stock  method  of  solving  difficulties,  Dryden  is  in- 
debted for  this  incident  to  Almahide,  the  bloody-heart  birthmark  estabUsh- 
ing  the  relationship. 


La  Calprenede's  Romances  73 

by  introducing  additional  incidents  concerned  chiefly  with 
her  character.  Although  these  should  be  included  in  the 
main  plot  it  has  seemed  best  for  the  sake  of  clearness  to  list 
them  separately. 

1.  The  wicked  woman  is  loved  by  two  suitors,  one  gener- 
ous, the  other  unscrupulous.^ 

2.  She  persuades  the  unscrupulous  suitor  by  the  promise 
of  her  hand  to  join  an  insurrectionist  party  in  deposing  his 
brother  from  the  throne.^ 

3.  The  conspiracy  failing,  (a)  the  unscrupulous  rival, 
repulsed,  seeks  to  retrieve  his  fortunes  by  joining  the  Spanish 
against  his  brother;  (6)  the  wicked  woman  takes  refuge  in 
a  fortress  outside  the  city. 

4.  The  wicked  woman  plays  fast  and  loose  with  her  two 
suitors  as  one  or  the  other  gets  the  upper  hand.^ 

5.  The  noble  suitor,  after  making  many  sacrifices  for  the 
sake  of  his  love,  (a)  kills  his  unscrupulous  rival;  (&)  and 
disillusioned  by  her  hardheartedness,  turns  against  her. 

6.  The  wicked  woma^n  accuses  him  of  adultery  with  the 
heroine. 

7.  When  he  is  cleared  of  this  charge  she  betrays  the  town 
to  the  enemy. 

8.  For  her  perfidy  she  is  made  Queen  of  Granada,  in 
which  capacity  she  rules  for  a  few  moments  gloating  over  her 
slaves.* 

9.  And  over  the  noble  suitor  who  has  been  captured. 

10.  The  suitor  stabs  her. 

11.  And  then  himself. 

1  In  this  assignment  Dryden  has  duplicated  the  portion  of  the  heroine. 

2  This  temptation  is  a  modification  of  the  theme  of  the  sacrifice  of  honor 
to  love.     For  a  discussion  of  this  see  above  The  Indian  Queen,  subplot  5. 

3  Cf.  Almahide,  III,  iii,  60. 

*  The  brevity  of  her  rule  puts  this  in  a  class  by  itself.  In  Boyle's  Herod 
the  Great,  probably  written  after  The  Conquest  of  Granada,  the  wicked  woman 
rules  an  equally  brief  period. 


74  Hekbert  Wynford  Hill 

The  subplot  presenting  the  story  of  the  loves  of  Ozmyn 
and  Benzayda  has  little  bearing  on  the  main  plot,  and  it 
does  not  conform  to  the  heroic-romance  pattern.  It  is  as 
follows : 

The  Subplot^— 

1.  The  hero^  is  in  love  with  the  daughter  of  a  hostile 
house. ^ 

2.  The  hero  performs  wonders:  (a)  in  amusement  con- 
tests;  (6)  in  mixed  combats. 

3.  The  hero  kills  the  brother  of  the  heroine.^ 

4.  The  hero  is  captured  by  the  hostile  faction. 

5.  The  heroine  refuses  to  be  his  executioner. 

6.  The  hero  is  saved  by:  (a)  the  turning  of  the  tide  of 
battle;  (&)  and  by  the  heroine,  who  unbinds  him  and  gives 
him  arms.^ 

7.  The  lovers  flee.^ 

8.  They  are  captured  by  the  Spanish. 

9.  The  hero  is  saved  from  execution  by  the  queen. 

10.  The  hero  protects  the  heroine's  father  from  his  own; 
The  Spanish  forces  arriving  he  protects  his  own  father  from 
them.^ 

11.  The  heroine's  father  is  captured  by  the  hero's  father, 
(a)  The  hero  offers  himself  in  exchange;  (6)  the  heroine 
disguised  as  a  man  offers  herself  in  exchange ;  (c)  the  heroine's 

1  The  Ozmyii-Benzayda  plot  does  not  appear  in  Almahide.  Some  parts 
of  it  were  taken  from  Ibrahim. 

8  Ozmyn,  not  Almanzor;  the  heroine  is  Benzayda. 

» This  is  a  variation  of  the  conventional  romance  situation  where  the 
hero  is  in  love  with  the  daughter  of  the  hostile  ruler. 

*  In  William  Jo3mer's  The  Roman  Empress,  published  1671,  the  hero  kills 
the  heroine's  twin  brother. 

B  Cf .  Cleopatra,  Part  I,  pp.  311+ ;  Part  II,  pp.  544+,  In  Ibrahim  the 
daughter  of  the  emperor  saves  the  hero  condemned  to  die. 

«  The  flight  of  the  lovers  has  a  parallel  in  Ibrahim. 

1  Both  Oroondates  (Cassandra,  41)  and  Artaxerxes  (Cassandra,  379)  save 
the  lives  of  the  heroines'  fathers  hostile  to  them,  and  both  take  arms  against 
their  own  fathers.     Dryden  has  made  more  of  filial  love  than  La  Calprenede. 


La  Calprenede^s  Romances  75 

father  wishes  to  die  to  save  the  others;^  (d)  the  hero's  father 
is  won  over  by  their  sublime  spirit  of  self-sacrifice  and  yields 
consent  to  the  union  of  the  lovers. 

12.  The  hero  assists  the  hero  of  the  main  plot  in  the  trial- 
by-combat. 

La  Calpren^de  uses  a  definite  set  of  stock  characters  for 
his  main  and  subordinate  plots.  In  developing  a  full- 
fledged  plot  he  begins  with  the  set  of  characters  immediately 
surrounding  the  hero,  and  enlarges  by  the  simple  process  of 
duplicating  this  set;  thus  we  find  given  to  the  heroine  a 
generous  and  unscrupulous  rival  and  a  supporting  heroine, 
who  in  her  turn  has  a  generous  and  unscrupulous  rival,  and 
if  the  plot  will  warrant,  a  supporting  heroine  of  her  own  with 
attached  generous  and  unscrupulous  rivals.  The  supporting 
hero  is  fitted  out  in  the  same  way  with  an  obdurate  ruler,  a 
generous  and  imscrupulous  rival,  and  possibly  a  supporting 
hero  of  his  own,  with  attached  obdurate  ruler  and  a  generous 
and  unscrupulous  rival.  Dry  den  in  The  Conquest  of  Granada 
uses  the  same  set  of  stock  characters  and  builds  up  his  set 
of  characters  in  much  the  same  way. 

Almanzor  had  his  beginning  in  the  characters  of  Monte- 
zuma and  Cortez.2  This  statement  in  no  way  contradicts 
Dryden's  own  assignment  of  the  source  of  his  hero  to  Achilles, 
Rinaldo,  and  Artaban,  inasmuch  as  his  acquaintance  with 


1  Cf.  Cleopatra,  Part  II,  pp.  564  +,  and  Davenants'  Love  and  Honour  for 
similar  scenes  of  cumulative  self-sacrifice. 

2  Martin  Clifford  (Notes  upon  Mr.  Dryden's  Poems  in  Four  Letters, 
London,  1687,  p.  7)  wrote:  *'  But  I  am  strangely  mistaken  if  I  have  not  seen 
this  very  Almanzor  of  yours  in  some  disguise  about  this  Town,  and  passing 
under  another  name.  Prethee  tell  me  true,  was  not  this  Huflf-cap  once  the 
Indian  Emperour,  and  at  another  time  did  he  not  call  himself  Maximne  ?  Was 
not  Lyndaraxa  once  called  Almeria,  I  mean  imder  Montezuma  the  Indian 
Emperour?  I  protest  and  vow  they  are  either  the  same,  or  so  alike, that 
I  can't  for  my  heart  distinguish  one  from  the  other." 

(Clifford's  criticisms  are  very  biased  and  inferior,  and  here  he  has  the 
names  slightly  mixed,  but  there  is  a  certain  point  to  his  criticism.) 


76  Herbert  Wynford  Hill 

these   three   antedates   the   writing   of   the   earlier   plays. 
Dryden's  words  are '} 

I  must  therefore  avow,  in  the  first  place,  from  whence  I  took 
the  character.  The  first  image  I  had  of  him,  was  from  the  Achilles 
of  Homer;  the  next  from  Tasso's  Rinaldo  (who  was  a  copy  of  the 
former),  and  the  third  from  the  Artaban  of  Monsieur  Calprenede, 
who  has  imitated  both. 

In  spite  of  Dryden's  statement  that  he  is  more  in  love 
with  Achilles  and  Rinaldo  than  with  Cyrus  and  Oroondates 
it  is  perfectly  evident  that  Almanzor  more  nearly  resembles 
the  latter  than  the  former. 

As  we  have  already  observed,  Almanzor  is  introduced  in 
the  same  way  that  La  Calprenede's  principal  heroes  are 
introduced — taking  the  part  of  the  weaker  side  in  a  combat; 
and  from  the  same  motive,  an  inborn  sense  of  honor.  We  are 
straightway  informed  of  the  hero  that  in  a  recent  war, 

This,  sir,  is  he,  who  for  the  elder  fought, 
And  to  the  juster  cause  the  conquest  brought. 

And  Ahdalla,  who  is  addressing  the  king,  goes  on  to  say  that, 

Honour's  the  only  idol  of  his  eyes. 

In  addition  to  this  fine  sense  of  honor  Almanzor  possesses 
two  other  dominant  traits,  enumerated  by  Dryden  in  the 
dedicatory  preface  i^ 

I  designed  in  him  a  roughness  of  character,  impatient  of  injuries; 
and  a  confidence  in  himself e,  almost  approaching  to  an  arrogance. 

This  roughness  takes  the  form  of  fierceness  inspiring  awe 
and  reverence  in  the  hearts  of  his  friends  and  paralyzing  with 
terror  his  foes.^    With  a  glance  he  controls  factions  uncon- 

1  Essay  on  Heroic  Plays  prefaced  to  The  Conquest  of  Granada,  Scott  and 
Saintsbiiry  ed.  of  1883,  Vol.  IV,  p.  26. 

2  First  ed. 

3  Oroondates,  the  hero  of  Cassandra,  possessed  this  quality  to  an  extreme 
degree. 


La  Calprenede's  Romances  77 

trollable  by  the  king.^  He  bears  two  basilisks  in  his  fierce 
eyes  which  frighten  armies  and  control  thrones.  At  his 
mere  appearance  foes  melt  away  Uke  dew  before  the  sun. 
Even  to  those  he  loves  his  eyes  are  as  Ughtning.^ 

He  is  impatient  of  restraint:   when  the  guards  move  to 
seize  him,  he  commands  (Act  I,  scene  1,  1st  ed.,  p.  8), 

Stand  off;  I  have  not  leisure  yet  to  dye.' 

And  this  is  his  attitude  toward  all  save  the  heroine.  He 
addresses  Boabdelin  (Act  V,  scene  1,  p.  58): 

1  Dryden  defends  this  extravagance  in  the  closing  pages  of  the  Essay  on 
Heroic  Plays. 

2  Act  III,  scene  1.     First  ed.,  p.  27,  Almahide  exclaims: 

Mark  but  how  terrible  his  Eyes  appear! 
And  yet  there's  something  roughly  noble  there. 
Which,  in  vmfashion'd  nature,  looks  Divine; 
And  Uke  a  Gemm  does  in  the  Quarry  shine. 
And  implores  him, 

....  I  beg  the  grace 

You  would  lay  by  those  terrours  of  your  face. 
Till  calmness  to  your  eyes  you  first  restore 
I  am  afraid,  and  I  can  beg  no  more. 

»  When  the  king  refuses  to  free  his  prisoner,  he  bursts  out: 

He  break  my  promise  and  absolve  my  vow! 
*Tis  more  than  Mahomet  himself  can  do. 

Chafing  imder  the  restraint  of  all-consmnuig  love,  he  addresses  Almahide 
(Act  III,  scene  1,  p.  29): 

I  wonnot  love  you,  give  me  back  my  heart. 
But  give  it  as  you  had  it  fierce  and  brave; 
It  was  not  made  to  be  a  woman's  slave: 
But  Lyon-Uke  has  been  in  desarts  bred 
And,  us'd  to  range,  will  Ne're  be  tamely  led. 

He  informs  BoabdeUn  that  (Act  I,  scene  1,  p.  8): 

My  laws  are  made  but  only  for  my  sake. 

He  boasts  to  Abdalla  (Act  III,  scene  1,  p.  33) : 

I  am  immortal;   and  a  God  to  thee. 

If  I  would  kill  thee  now,  thy  fate's  so  low 

That  I  must  stoop  'ere  I  can  give  the  blow 

But  mine  is  Qx'd  so  far  above  thy  Crown, 

That  all  thy  men 

Pil'd  on  thy  back  can  never  pull  it  down. 

But  at  my  ease  thy  destiny  I  send. 

By  ceasing  from  this  hour  to  be  thy  friend. 

Ijike  Heav'n  I  need  but  onely  to  stand  still; 

And,  not  conctirring  to  thy  life,  I  kill. 

Thou  canst  no  title  to  my  duty  bring: 

I'm  not  thy  Subject,  and  my  Soul's  thy  king. 

Farewell,  when  I  am  gone 

There's  not  a  starr  of  thine  dare  stay  with  thee: 

I'le  whistle  thy  tame  for  time  after  me: 

And  whirl  fate  with  me  whereso'ere  I  fly. 

As  winds  drive  storms  before  'em  in  the  sky. 


78  Herbert  Wynford  Hill 

Accept  great  King,  tomorrow  from  my  hand 
The  captive  head  of  conquer'd  Ferdinand 
You  shall  not  only  what  you  lost  regain 
But  'ore  the  Byscayn  Mountains  to  the  Mayn, 
Extend  your  sway,  where  never  Moor  did  reign. 

We  are  comforted  by  the  assurance  of  Abenamar — 

What  in  another  Vanity  would  seem, 
Appears  but  noble  confidence  in  him 
No  Haughty  boasting,  but  a  manly  pride. 

In  these  traits  Almanzor  resembles  Artaban  in  detail. 
Artaban  is  the  soul  of  honor.  He  possesses  a  certain 
*' roughness  of  character" — in  fact,  we  may  continue  with 
Dryden's  words — "impatient  of  injuries;  and  a  confidence 
of  himself e,  almost  approaching  arrogance.''  As  in  the 
case  of  Almanzor  the  roughness  is  ascribed  in  part  to  his 
having  been  reared  outside  of  the  court^  in  obscurity. 
Artaban,  like  Almanzor,  inspires  fear  by  his  terrible  eyes; 
he  controls  armies  with  a  glance,  puts  terror  into  the  hearts 
of  his  foes,  paralyzing  them  by  his  mere  presence.^    The 

1  Cf.  p.  366,  the  passage  beginning,  "With  truth  I  may  say  he  nourished 
me  like  Achilles,"  etc. 

2Cf.  Vol.  I,  pp.  218,  224;  Vol.  II,  pp.  90,  546.  The  hero  of  Cassandra 
possesses  a  majesty  so  sublime  that  although  in  prison  and  at  the  mercy  of  an 
imscrupulous  foe  his  appearance  saves  him: 

The  Majesty  of  the  Prince  ....  appear'd  in  so  sublime  a  degree,  that 
the  affrighted  Cassander  thought  he  saw  fire  in  his  eyes  and  marks  of  Divinity 
in  his  face.  And  indeed  he  was  so  much  dismai'd  that  his  arm  which  he  had 
lifted  up,  simk  down  without  effect,  and  he  stood  with  his  heart  frozen  by  a 
thousand  terrors. — {Cassandra,  p.  551). 

In  Cleopatra,  Part  II,  Caesario  tells  how,  when  weak  and  defenceless 
through  the  loss  of  blood,  lying  on  the  battlefield,  he  is  threatened  by  a  woman 
fiirious  through  the  loss  of  her  lover,  his  beauty  causes  the  upraised  dagger  to 
fall  from  her  hand. 

When  the  king  refuses  to  free  the  prisoners  the  hero  has  captured  he 
insolently  addresses  the  king  {Cleopatra,  Part  I,  p.  224): 

Think  not  King  of  the  Medes,  said  he,  that  I  can  either  shrink  at  your  threats, 
or  be  bought  with  those  benefits  wherewith  you  upbraid  me:  No,  both  the 
one  and  the  other  are  too  much  below  me,  and  so  long  as  I  carried  this  sword 
about  me  (that  put  the  Crown  upon  your  head  and  cut  you  out  a  condition 
to  talk  like  a  Master  upon  the  King  of  Parthia's  Territories,  that  a  few  months 
since  had  scarce  a  comer  of  your  own  to  secure  you)  I  shall  teach  it  to  defend 
me  against  all  my  Enemies;  and  gather  fairer  Flowers  of  Dignity  and  Honour 
in  the  wide  field  of  the  World,  than  any  I  can  hope  from  such  a  King  as  you. 

At  the  close  of  these  words  he  turned  his  back  upon  the  King  without 
paying  the  least  reverence  to  his  person,   and  holding  his  hand  upon  the 


La  Calprenede's  Romances  79 

first  sight  the  heroine  has  of  him  impresses  her — as  Almahide 
at  her  first  meeting  with  Almanzor — with  "a  natural 
fierceness"  and  with  "the  sparkling  vivacity  of  his  eyes."^ 
He  is  impatient  of  restraint. 

Not  only  in  these  general  traits  has  Dryden  imitated  La' 
Calprenede's  hero,  but  in  the  manipulation  of  some  of  the 
scenes.  Let  us  take,  for  example,  the  handling  of  the  scene 
where  the  hero,  having  saved  the  kingdom  from  ruin,  asks 
as  his  only  reward  the  hand  of  the  heroine.^ 

Artaban  skilfully  opens  the  interview  by  reference  to  his 
recent  victories  and  boastful  assurance  of  conquests  in  the 
future;   and  the  king, 

instructed  by  the  proofs  of  a  fortunate  experience  how  capable 
he  was  to  change  his  words  into  actions,  listened  to  the  same 
language  from  him,  as  he  would  have  done  to  an  oracle,  which 
might  have  been  interpreted  from  another  mouth  as  the  effects 
of  a  vain  presumption.  • 

Almanzor  opens  the  interview  in  the  same  way  and  we  are 
assured  of  the  hero: 

You  can  perform,  brave  warrior,  what  you  please 
Fate  listens  to  your  voice,  and  then  decrees. 

In  both  the  play  and  the  romance  the  king  now  deplores 
his  inability  to  reward  the  hero  adequately  and  begs  him  to 
name  a  gift  in  some  measure  worthy  of  such  high  desert. 

guard  of  his  sword  went  out  of  the  Chamber  with  an  action  so  terrible,  as  of 
all  these  that  were  near  the  King,  there  was  not  a  man  so  hardy  as  to  oppose 
his  passage,  or  had  courage  enough  to  come  near  him. 

Like  Almanzor,  "  fierce  as  Libian  Lyon  to  all  besides,"  he  is  in  the  heroine's 
presence  "ever  gentle  and  submissive." 

"Bom  to  disesteem  the  whole  world,"  he  boasts  to  Phraates  (Cleopatra, 
Part  I,  p.  246): 

Sir,  I  do  make  you  a  promise  of  their  mine,  to  be  paid  in  less  than  is 
requisite  to  take  exact  survey  of  their  Provinces,  and  if  I  do  not  lay  both  these 
Crowns  at  your  feet,  before  Time  be  two  years  older,  blot  out  the  name  of 
Artaban  from  your  memory,  and  caU  me  Impostor. 

1  Cf.  Vol.  I,  218. 

2  The  same  occurs  in  Cleopatra,  Part  I,  p.  246;  in  The  Conquest  of  Granada, 
Part  I,  Act  V  (scene  2),  p.  57  (in  the  first  edition  this  act  is  not  divided  into 
scenes). 


80  Hekbert  Wynford  Hill 

Artaban,  unwilling  to  let  so  fair  an  opportunity  escape  him, 
replies, 

No,  Sir,  said  he,  I  will  not  always  dwell  upon  these  terms  of 
refusal,  and  if  till  now,  by  so  long  forbearing  to  ask  recompence, 
I  have  pas'd  in  your  thoughts  for  a  modest  man,  I  shall  doubtless 
now,  by  demanding  one  of  too  high  a  value,  incur  the  censure  of  an 
insolent;  Sir,  you  have  that  at  your  disposal,  that  carries  a  capacity, 
not  only  of  rewarding  my  former  services  (they  are  too  cheap  and 
worthless  to  give  me  any  right  to  so  rich  a  salary)  but  indeed  of 
overpaying  (like  a  great  and  bounteous  king)  all  the  rest  that  I  am 
prepared  to  render  you. 

Almanzor  replies  in  similar  vein  {The  Conquest  of  Gra- 
nada, 1st  ed.,  p.  58) : 

When  I  shall  have  declared  my  high  request. 
So  much  presumption  there  will  be  confest. 
That  you  will  find  your  gifts  I  do  not  shun; 
But  rather  much  o'er-rate  the  service  done. 

Artaban  continues  {Cleopatra,  Part  I,  p.  246) : 

if  I  have  rashly  raised  the  wings  of  my  desires  that  way,  I  do  but 
take  the  just  dimensions  of  your  greatness, 

a  figure  of  speech  which  Dryden  puts  into  the  mouth  of 
Boabdelin  in  his  reply  to  Almanzor's  speech  last  quoted 
above  (1st  ed.,  p.  58) : 

Give  wing  to  your  desires,  and  let  'em  fly 
Secure,  they  cannot  mount  a  pitch  too  high.^ 

Boabdelin  refuses  the  hero's  request  for  the  heroine,  and 
continues  (1st  ed.,  p.  60): 

Dare  not  henceforth  ungrateful  me  to  call; 
What'ere  I  ow'd  you,  this  has  cancell'd  all. 


My  patience  more  than  payes  thy  service  past; 

1  Cf.  also  Almahide,  III,  iii,  73: 

Give  aU  the  swinge  to  your  desires,  as  far  as  mortal  wish  can  reach,  they 
cannot  soar  too  high  a  pitch. 


La  Calprenede's  Romances  81 

But  know  this  insolence  shall  be  thy  last. 
Hence  from  my  sight,  and  take  it  as  a  grace 
Thou  liv'st,  and  art  but  banished  from  the  place. 

— a  speech  which  bears  some  resemblance  to  the  speech  of 
the  king  in  the  romance  on  this  occasion  (p.  247) : 

Say  no  more,  said  he,  with  a  furious  look,  that  I  am  ungrateful 
for  the  Services  thou  hast  render'd  me,  and  in  Ueu  of  that  grand 
reward  thy  fancy  hopes  did  aim  at,  receive  thy  Hfe  at  the  hands 
of  my  unmeritted  mercy,  which  thy  Insolence  has  forfeited:  till 
now  I  never  suffered  reproach  or  menace  from  any  mortal  person, 
and  thou  alone  hast  put  my  patience  to  a  proof,  that  would  have 
been  fatal  to  any  other. 

Almahide  is  an  excellent  copy  of  the  heroines  of  La  Cal- 
prenede;  beautiful,  highly  serious,  gentle,  and  languishing, 
she  is,  however,  capable  of  heroic  deeds.  Furthermore,  she 
possesses  marked  wifely  constancy;  in  the  possession  of  this 
last  trait  she  differs  from  the  heroine  of  Almahide,  and  follows 
rather  the  example  of  the  heroine  of  Cassandra.  La  Cal- 
prenede's  heroine,  as  Dryden's,  was  in  love  with  the  hero 
before  her  marriage  to  the  ruler;  after  her  marriage  she 
gives  to  the  ruler  the  full  measure  of  wifely  constancy, 
defending  him  to  the  hero,  and  rejoicing  in  the  preservation 
of  his  life  by  the  hero.  Parisatis,  the  supporting  heroine  of 
Cassandra,  is  equally  constant  under  similar  circumstances. 
Almahide  of  the  romance  is  anything  but  the  type  of  wifely 
constancy;  her  constant  attitude  toward  the  ruler,  her 
husband,  was  of  rebellion.  Her  attitude  is  well  displayed 
in  the  following  letter  to  her  lover,  written  after  her  marriage : 

I  am  not  Boabdelin's,  but  by  constraint,  and  therefore  while 
you  observe  your  Engagements  to  me,  I  will  be  better  than  my 
word  to  you.  I  know  it  as  much  afflicts  you  to  be  out  of  that 
Company  you  were  wont  to  enjoy,  as  it  grieves  me  to  want  my 
Trusty  Slave.    However,  lay  next  your  heart  as  much  of  me,  as 


82  Herbert  Wynford  Hill 

I  can  at  present  afford,  till  my  Destinies  have  otherwise  dispos'd 
of  me.  Do  nothing  that  may  injure  yourself  or  me;  but  above 
all  things,  have  a  care  of  that  Life,  which  is  so  precious  to 

Almahide 

Lyndaraxa  was  probably  originally  intended  to  be  the 
stock  unscrupulous  rival  of  the  heroine,  but  this  capable 
and  fascinating  woman  develops  so  rapidly  under  the  hand 
of  the  entranced  author  that  she  quite  outstrips  her  type 
and  challenges  in  interest  the  heroine  herself.  Dryden  may 
have  drawn  some  suggestions  for  this  character  from  Cadige 
in  Almahide;^  but  no  one  can  read  The  Indian  Queen  and 
The  Indian  Emperor  without  feeling  that  the  character 
had  its  beginning  in  the  two  wicked  women,  Zempoalla  and 
Almeria,  the  latter  especially  having  much  in  common  with 
Lyndaraxa.  In  elaborating  this  character,  Dryden  gives 
her  two  suitors,  one  noble,  the  other  unscrupulous. 

Dryden^  criticizes  Davenant  for  scanting  his  images: 

The  Laws  of  an  Heroick  Poem  did  not  dispence  with  those  of 
the  other,  but  rais'd  them  to  a  greater  height:  and  indulg'd  him 
a  farther  liberty  of  Fancy,  and  of  drawing  all  things  as  far  above 
the  ordinary  proportion  of  the  Stage,  as  that  is  beyond  the  common 
words  and  actions  of  humane  life:  and  therefore  in  the  scanting 
of  his  Images,  and  design,  he  comply'd  not  enough  with  the  great- 
ness and  Majesty  of  an  Heroick  Poem. 

1  She  [Cadige]  finding  herself  courted  by  the  Prince  of  the  Moors,  and  one 
that  was  in  a  fair  way  of  dispossessing  his  Brother,  in  regard  his  Ambition  was 
always  contriving  against  him,  as  she  was  a  Woman  of  a  haughty  and  aspiring 
Spirit.  Does  Andalla  court  thee?  said  she  to  herself,  wherefore  then  dost 
thou  not  submit  to  the  Brother  of  a  King?  Is  it  because  thou  wouldst  not 
be  true  to  Amat  ?  ....  Is  it  not  better  to  be  a  Queen  and  cease  to  love  the 
inconstant  Amat,  than  to  be  faithful,  and  continue  only  bare  Cadige  ?  Well,  let 
him  be  King  first. 

When  Andalla  puts  her  the  question  (p.  61),  "Were  my  Brother  dead 
and  I  King  would  you  then  accept  of  my  affections  ? "  She  replies;  " I  would 
accept  of  yours  or  any  man's  affection  upon  that  condition." 

She  is  as  little  troubled  as  Lyndaraxa  at  the  news  of  the  death  of  one  of 
her  suitors.     At  the  close  she  happily  marries  Andalla. 

2  Essay  on  Heroic  Plays,  pref.  to  1st  ed. 


La  Calprenede's  Romances  83 

There  is  no  scanting  of  images  or  design  in  The  Conquest 
of  Granada;  everything  is  sufficiently  beyond  the  common 
words  and  actions  of  human  life.  In  giving  range  to  his 
fancy  there  is  little  restraint;  he  allows  the  utmost  freedom, 
frequently  passing  the  bounds  of  good  taste  ancient  or 
modern.  In  the  development  of  the  plot  he  carries  incidents 
through  to  the  bitter  end  and  wrings  the  last  possibility 
out  of  every  situation.  Each  morsel  of  emotion  is  rolled 
under  the  tongue  until  the  final  intoxicating  drop  of  sweet- 
ness is  drawn  out.  When  the  author  mounts  the  winged 
steed  of  imagery  there  are  gambols  and  cavortings  marvelous 
and  dizzying  to  behold. 

Love  is  Uke  a  tempest  that  outrides  the  wind;  a  lethargy 
that  seizes  the  will;  it  lures  the  unfortunate  victim  on  to  his 
ruin  even  as  a  skater  sees  the  water  near  yet  cannot  stop 
himself  in  his  career.  Almanzor's  falling  in  love  is  described 
by  himself.^ 

I'me  pleas'd  and  pain'd,  since  first  her  eyes  I  saw, 

As  I  were  stung  with  some  Tarantula 

Armes,  and  the  dusty  field,  I  less  admire; 

And  soften  strangely  in  some  new  desire; 

Honour  burns  in  me,  not  so  fiercely  bright; 

But  pale,  as  fires  when  mastered  by  the  light. 

Ev'n  while  I  speak  and  look,  I  change  yet  more; 

And  now  am  nothing  that  I  was  before. 

I'm  numm'd,  and  fix'd,  and  scarce  my  eyeballs  move; 

I  fear  it  is  the  Lethargy  of  Love! 

'Tis  he;  I  feel  him  now  in  every  part: 

Like  a  new  Lord  he  vaunts  about  my  Heart; 

Surveys,  in  state,  each  corner  of  my  Brest, 

While  poor  fierce  I,  that  was,  am  dispossessed. 

I'm  bound;  but  I  will  rowze  my  rage  again: 

And,  though  no  hope  of  Liberty  remaine, 

I'll  fright  my  Keeper  when  I  shake  my  chaine. 

iP.  28. 


84  Hekbert  Wynford  Hill 

— where  love  is  tarantula,  a  lethargy,  a  lord,  and  a  jailor  in 
rapid  succession.  A  few  lines  farther  on,  love  is  a  tempest, 
and  then  Almanzor  discovers: 

I'm  all  o're  love: 

Nay,  I  am  Love;  Love  shot,  and  shot  so  fast. 

He  shot  himself  into  my  brest  at  last. 

Abdalla  says  of  Ljnidaraxa  (1st  ed.,  p.  23) : 

Her  tears,  her  smiles,  her  every  look's  a  Net. 
Her  voice  is  hke  a  Syren's  of  the  Land; 
And  bloody  Hearts  lie  panting  in  her  hand. 

In  these  excesses  Dryden  is  following  the  heroic  poems 
of  the  day  rather  than  the  heroic  romances  of  La  Calprenede. 

In  his  use  of  a  war  background  Dryden  was  following 
the  prevailing  heroic  practice.  The  war  situation  he  drew 
from  Almahide  III,  111.^  For  the  use  of  supernatural 
agencies,  such  as  the  ghost,  and  the  voice  from  heaven, 
precedents  are  not  wanting  in  La  Calprenede's  romances, 
although  there  is  no  trace  of  indebtedness.^  In  the  intro- 
duction of  songs  and  the  Zambra  dance  he  was  catering  to 
the  taste  fostered  by  the  contemporary  stage.  In  the  use 
of  wit  combats  he  was  following  the  school  of  Scudery 
rather  than  of  La  Calprenede. 

With  The  Conquest  of  Granada  the  type  of  the  heroic  play 
was  well  established;  the  succeeding  plays  follow  closely  the 
same  lines,  the  characters,  situations,  and  incidents  being 
repeated  time  and  again  with  slight  variation.  Lee  perhaps 
more  than  any  other  writer  gave  to  the  heroic  play  its  popu- 
larity.    Otway  in  two  plays  Alcibiades  and  Don  Carlos 

1  Quineault  uses  the  same  situation  in  one  of  his  plays  which  was  trans- 
lated and  published  in  1659  by  Sir  William  Lower  under  the  title,  The  Noble 
Ingratitude.  It  is  curious  to  note  that  the  play  has  two  names  in  common 
with  The  Conquest  of  Granada  neither  of  which  is  found  in  Almahide;  these  are 
Almansor  and  Linderache. 

2  In  his  Essay  on  Heroic  Plays,  Dryden  defends  the  use  of  specters  and 
magic,  claiming,  "for  ought  we  know,  they  may  be  in  nature."  Of.  also  The 
Indian  Emperor,  Act  II,  scene  1. 


La  Calprenede's  Romances  85 

gave  variety  to  the  type  by  introducing  a  tragic  conclusion. 
It  would  be  interesting  to  note  the  stock  situations  and 
incidents  in  the  whole  group  and  enumerate  their  occurrence 
in  each  of  the  plays.  However,  in  presenting  the  influence 
of  La  Calprenede  it  has  seemed  best  to  confine  the  discus- 
sion to  those  plays  that  present  specific  evidence  of  borrow- 
ings from  Cassandra  and  Cleopatra.  These  plays  we  will 
discuss  in  the  order  of  their  appearance. 

Herod  and  Mariamne 
Three  years  after  the  appearance  of  The  Conquest  of 
Granada,  there  was  acted  at  the  Duke's  Theater  another 
play  inspired  by  Cleopatra.^  This  play  Herod  and  Mari- 
amne'^ w^as  written  by  Samuel  Pordage,  an  author  whose 
indebtedness  to  La  Calprenede  in  a  later  play  written  in 
1678 — The  Siege  of  Babylon — ^we  shall  note  in  its  place. 
Although  not  published  until  1673,  the  play  was  written 
some  eleven  years  earlier,  as  we  are  told  in  the  prologue  to 
the  1674  edition: 

This  play  was  pretty  once  for  aught  we  know, 
When  'twas  first  writ,  a  dozen  years  agoe. 


A  dozen  years  agoe,  and  in  its  prime; 
And  n'ere  launcht  out  till  now. 

No  author  is  assigned  in  either  the  editions  of  1673  or  1674. 
Settle,  who  was  responsible  for  the  staging  and  publishing 

1  Of  the  success  of  the  play  we  leam  from  the  preface  to  Fenton's  Mari- 
amne: "We  have  Reason  to  suspect  this  was  of  no  great  reputation  because 
a  merry  Story  is  recorded  of  it."  The  story  presents  Rochester's  advice  to 
bum  the  play. 

2  The  title-page  of  the  first  edition  reads:  "Herod  and  Mariamne.  A 
Tragedy.     Acted  at  the  Duke's  Theatre, 

Stulta  est  dementia,  cimi  tot  ubique 

Vatibus  occuras,  perturae  parcere  chartae. — Juven. 

London,  Printed  for  WiUiam  Cademan,  at  the  Popes  Head  in  the  Lower  Walk 
of  the  New  Exchange  in  the  Strand,  1673."  Another  edition  came  out  the 
following  year. 


86  Herbert  Wynford  Hill 

of  the  play  writes  in  the  "Epistle  Dedicatory  to  the  Princess 
Elizabeth  Dutchess  of  Albemarle":^ 

....  the  hasty  Representation  of  it  did  not  give  me  time  to 
put  a  finishing  hand  to  it,  the  first  Copy  of  it  being  given  me  by  a 
Gentleman,  to  use  and  form  as  I  pleas'd,  I  humbly  implore,  that, 
what  the  present  wants  may  be  supplyed  by  the  Zeal  and  Obedience 
of,  etc. 

There  can  be  no  doubt,  however,  as  to  the  authorship,  for 
Pordage  in  the  title-page  of  The  Siege  of  Babylon  advertises 
himself  as  the  author  of  the  Tragedy  of  Herod  and  Mariamne 
(cf.  below,  footnote  to  p.  116). 

The  play  follows  the  history  of  Tyridates  and  Mariamne 
in  La  Calpren^de's  Cleopatra,  in  situations,  in  incidents, 
minute  details  and  phrasing.^  It  is  doubtful  that  Pordage 
had  ever  seen  Josephus,  Philo-Judaeus,  Eberus,  or  Egysippus: 
all  the  points  which  the  play  has  in  common  with  the  his- 
tories are  found  in  the  romance;  the  points  wherein  the 
play  differs  from  Cleopatra  are  not  taken  from  history;  and 
in  the  numerous  places  where  Pordage  departs  from  history 
he  follows  La  Calprenede.^ 

1  From  the  1673  edition. 

2  Langbaine  writes:  "For  the  plot,  I  think  the  author  has  follow'd  Mr. 
CalprenSde's  Cleopatra  a  Romance  in  the  Story  of  Tyridates;  but  for  the  true 
History  consult  Josephus,  Philo-Judaeus,  Eberus,  Egysippus,  etc." 

3  Boyle  and  Fenton  wrote  plays  on  the  same  subject.  Although  Boyle 
was  doubtless  famihar  with  La  Calprenede's  romance,  his  play  Herod  the  Great 
(pubUshed  posthiunously  1694)  shows  Uttle  trace  of  any  influence.  The  two 
plots  bear  little  resemblance,  the  characters  do  not  strongly  resemble  those  of 
the  romance,  and  the  hero  is  not  drawn  to  the  full  heroic  lines  of  La  Calpre- 
nede's heroes.  He  exhibits  Uttle  courage  imtil  the  close  where,  in  a  fit  of  mad 
despair  at  the  death  of  the  Queen,  he  kills  her  murderer,  the  King.  He  is  a 
pleasing  character,  but  lacks  the  vigor  and  fierceness  of  the  romance  type. 
Mariamne  of  all  the  characters  most  nearly  approaches  the  type  of  the  romance : 
she  is  beautiful,  languishing,  yet  proud  and  imperious.  Although  in  love  with 
the  hero,  she  is  faithful  to  her  husband,  whom  she  detests,  even  saving  his  life 
at  the  risk  of  her  own.  In  the  bounds  of  his  wickedness  the  ruler  falls  Uttle 
short  of  Lee's  Nero.  Salome  strongly  resembles  Lyndaraxa  of  The  Conquest 
of  Granada. 

Fenton's  Mariamne  by  its  lateness  (1723)  faUs  outside  the  bounds  set 
for  our  discussion.  It  is  interesting  chiefly  for  a  curious  preface  entitled: 
"The  History  of  Herod  and  Mariamne  coUected  and  compiled  from  the  best 


La  Calprenede's  Romances  87 

With  the  connivance  of  Sohemus,  Tyridates  visits  Mari- 
amne  and  declares  his  love  for  her.  Salome,  the  King's 
sister,  persecutes  Tyridates  with  her  love,  and,  failing  to  win 
him,  she  sets  about  planning  his  ruin  and  that  of  Mariamne. 
On  Herod's  return  she  accuses  Tyridates  of  being  Mariamne's 
accepted  lover,  and  Herod  joins  her  in  plotting  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  innocent  pair.  Tyridates  narrowly  misses  being 
poisoned  and  is  forced  to  flee  for  refuge  to  a  temple.  Through 
the  influence  of  a  Roman  legate  he  wins  the  privilege  of 
leaving  the  kingdom  unharmed.  Sohemus  reveals  to 
Mariamne  that  Herod  had  commanded  her  death  in  case 
Herod  did  not  return  from  his  visit  to  Augustus;  and  in  an 
unguarded  moment  Mariamne  reproaches  Herod  with  this 
cruelty,  with  the  result  that  Sohemus  is  sent  to  the  rack,  and 
Mariamne  to  prison.  This  brings  us  to  Act  V.  Thus 
far  the  action  follows  that  of  Cleopatra.  From  this  point 
on,  with  the  exception  of  the  trial  scene,  which  is  copied 
from  the  romance,  Pordage  follows  neither  La  Calprenede 
nor  history.  Mariamne  is  executed.  Tyridates  returns  at 
once  on  hearing  of  this  and  kills  Herod,  he  himself  receiving 
his  death  wound. ^ 

The  extent  of  the  author's  indebtedness  to  La  Calprenede 
may  best  be  shown  by  citing  a  few  parallel  passages. 

Historians  and  serving  to  illustrate  the  Fable  of  Mr.  Fenton's  Tragedy  of  that 
name."  Under  this  head  the  writer  has  gathered  several  pages  verbatim 
from  La  Calprenede's  story  of  Herod  and  Mariamne  in  Cleopatra.  Evidently 
he  considered  La  Calprenede  the  best  among  the  historians,  for  he  quotes  no 
other  so  copiously. 

There  is  no  good  evidence  that  Fenton  based  any  of  his  play  on  La  Cal- 
prenede's accoimt.  He  follows  Josephus  much  more  closely  throughout.  He 
does  not  introduce  a  lover  for  Mariamne.  The  King's  jealousy  is  aroused 
by  Mariamne's  upbraiding  him  for  his  command  to  put  her  to  death  in  case 
of  his  death  in  battle.  This  leads  him  to  suspect  Sohemus  as  a  rival  in  the 
affections  of  the  Queen.  The  use  of  the  poisoned  bowl  to  heighten  the  King's 
suspicions  of  his  wife  is  taken  from  Josephus.  It  does  not  occur  in  La  Cal- 
prenede. 

1  For  this  departure  from  history  in  hastening  the  death  of  Herod,  Genest 
severely  criticizes  Pordage.  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  Boyle  used  much  the 
same  conclusion  in  Herod  the  Great. 


Herbert  Wynford  Hill 


Herod  and  Mariamne  Cleopatra  (Part  I) 

Mariamne    expresses    her    attitude    toward  Herod,   an 
attitude  maintained  throughout  the  play  and  the  romance. 

I,  iii,  p.  51  P.  13 

Mar,  But  yet  that  monster  is         [Mar.]  ....  (as  much  mon- 
my  Husband  still.  star  as  he  is)  he  is  yet  my  hus- 

band. 


Tyridates,  her  lover,  is  more  impatient. 

P.  11 

[Tyrid.]  And  can  the  Gods 
permit  the  most  perfect  piece 
that  ever  they  put  their  hands 
to,  to  be  given  up  to  the  Cruel- 
ties of  such  an  Inhumane? 


I,  iv,  p.  8 
Tyrid.    Oh,  Gods!  how  can  you 

thus  unmov'd  behold 
The  best  piece  ever  made  of 

humane  mold; 
The  work  of  your  own  hands, 

giv'n  up  to  be 
A     subject     for    a   Monster's 

Cruelty. 

Now  Herod  is  her  Persecutor 

grown, 
I  him  no  longer  my  Protector 

own; 


P.  13 

[Tyrid.]  Till  now  ....  in  the 
person  of  Mariamne's  Perse- 
secuter  I  found  my  Protector; 
but  at  last,  Madame,  the  resent- 
ments of  what  I  owe  him,  have 
quitted  what  they  held  within 
me. 

Tyridates  disguised  as  a  guard  visits  Mariamne  in  her 


prison  chamber. 

I,  vi,  p.  10 

(Stage  directions)  *'Tyr.  run- 
ning to  her  Kneels" 

Mar.  Defend  me  Heav'n, 
what's  this  I  here  behold! 

One  of  my  Guard  so  Impudent 
and  Bold! 


P.  12 

[Tyridates  telling  the  story] 

I    fell    upon  my  knees 

The  Queen  finding  this  Action 
too  famihar  (and  too  passion- 
ate for  a  Guard)  at  first  repulst 
me.     Then     recognizing    him: 


1  The  page  references,  unless  otherwise  stated,  are  to  the  edition  of  1673. 


La  CalprenIide^s  Romances 


Herod  and  Mariamne 

Tyridates,  ha!  what  does  your 
rashness  mean  ? 

Do  not  you  know  'tis  Death  to 
see  the  Queen? 

Tyr.  Madam,  I  do:  but  dan- 
gers I  defy, 

And  I  could  wish  them  far  more 
great,  and  nigh. 

I  no  occasion  had  till  now  to 
show 

How  httle  I  do  value  Life  for 
you. 

Throughout  this  scene,  the  play  closely  paraphrases  the 
romance.     One  more  parallel  must  be  quoted : 


Cleopatra 
Ah!     Tyridates,     what     mean 
you?    To  what  a  Danger  have 
you  exposed  yourself  ? 

[Tyrid.]  Danger,  Madame, 
Ah!  that  the  Gods  would  con- 
front me  with  a  thousand  times 
more,  that  I  might  find  occa- 
sion to  show  you  how  mean  a 
thing  I  think  my  life  in  relation 
to  your  service. 


Tyr.    Ah,  wou'd  the  Gods!  that 

Tyridates  cou'd 
Buy  off  Your  Sufferings  Madame 

with  his  Blood: 
Or  end  Your  Troubles  with  his 

Punishment, 
By  all  the  Deaths  that  Herod 

could  Invent. 
How  fair  would  be  my  Fate  to 

pay  to  you 
My  Life;   to  whom  all  Hearts, 

aU  Lives  are  due: 


P.  11 

[  Tyr.]  Ah,  might  it  please  the 
Gods,  cried  I,  wholly  trans- 
ported, that  your  evils  might 
be  bought  off  with  the  cruellest 
death  that  Herod  is  capable 
of  inventing,  with  what  glad 
heart  should  I  run  to  embrace 
those  glorious  torments — how 
fair  would  be  my  Destiny  to  pay 
down  my  life  for  this  adorable 
Princess,  to  whom  all  Lives,  all 


Hearts  ought  to  be  sacrificed! 

Salome  confesses  her  love  to  Tyridates  in  a  picture 
gallery.  After  brief  reference  to  the  history  of  Pharaoh, 
David,  and  Solomon  she  proceeds: 


II,  iv,  p.  18 
Salom.    Whilst  thus  you  pass 

your  judgment  Sir  on  them; 
Consider  that  yourself  you  do 

Condemn. 


P.  18 

[Salome]  You  have  said 
enough  to  convince  yourself 
....  you  should  consider 
what  you   owe   to   Princesses, 


90 


Herbert  Wynford  Hill 


Herod  and  Mariamne 

You  to  a  Princess  have  appeared 
too  Rude, 

And  for  true  Love  return'd  in- 
gratitude. 

Though  she  has  left  no  Reahns 
to  visit  you, 

Yet  that  which  is  more  hard, 
she  does  pursue. 

Thus  the  scene  continues  loosely  paraphrasing  the  scene 
in  the  romance.    Salome  leaves  in  a  rage  threatening: 

You'l  be  no  more  with  such         Your    perplexities    shall    no 
Discourses   vext.  more  be  redoubled  by  a  Dis- 


Cleopatra 
who  ('tis  true)  have  neither 
abandoned  Realms,  nor  trav- 
ersed Provinces  to  see  you; 
but  abandoned  for  yoiu*  sake  a 
Liberty  more  dear  than  Em- 
pires, .... 


And  since  you  with  affection 

are  opprest. 
That  Importunity  shall  be  re- 

dres't: 


course  so  disobliging;  and  since 
you  are  opprest  with  Affection, 
there  shall  be  care  taken  to  free 
you  of  that  importunity. 


Herod  leaves  Mariamne  in  a  garden  with  Tyridates  for 
her  entertainment.  As  Herod  departs  Mariamne  says: 


HI,  i,  p.  21 

Had  Herod  known,  you  did  my 
Love  pursue. 

He  would  not  now  have  given 
my  hand  to  you. 

And  since  you  did  to  me  your 
Thoughts  commit, 

I  ought  my  self  too,  to  have 
hinder'd  it. 

But  that  I  judg'd  I  might  with- 
out offence; 

Either  to  yours,  or  my  own 
Innocence. 

Did  I  believe  you  harbour  in 
your  Breast 

A  thought  to  my  Dishonour 
I'de  Detest 

You  as  a  Monster,  and  my  Mor- 
tal Foe. 


P.  16 
If  the  King  knew  your  in- 
tentions, he  would  not  put  me 
into  your  hands  with  so  much 
confidence,  and  since  they  were 
known  to  me,  I  ought  to  have 
hindered  it  ...  .  and  prob- 
ably I  had  too,  if  I  had  not 
believed  I  might  permit  your 
converse  ....  without  inter- 
essing  what  I  owe  to  him  or  to 
my  self  ....  I  did  believe 
you  could  harbour  a  thought 
to  my  dishonour,  I  would  look 
upon  you  as  a  Monster,  as  a 
Mortal  Enemy. 


La  Calprenede's  Romances 


91 


The  remainder  of  this  dialogue  follows  the  conversation 
of  the  romance.  Salome  entering,  Tyridates  scorns  her  and 
Mariamne  speaks : 


Herod  and  Mariamne 
III,  i,  p.  23 
Are  you  so  Cruel  then  to  Ladys 
grown! 


Cleopatra 
P.  19 
Are    you    so    cruel    then    to 
Ladies  that  love  you? 

[I]  cannot  countenance  yours 
without  incurring  the  same  sin 
you  condemn  in  Salome. 


That  sin  which  you  in  Salome 

condemne; 
Would   you  Mariamne,  should 

in  you  esteem? 

Herod  enters  and,  coldly  received  by  Mariamne,    com 
mands : 


III,  i,  p.  24 
Hence  scornful  Woman,   from 

my  Presence  go: 
Since  not  your  Husband,  you, 

your  King  shall  Know: 
Your  Fathers  Destinies  you  do 

forget. 


P.  17  (another  scene) 
Go,  get  you  out  of  my 
Chamber,  and  if  you  do  not 
remember  the  destiny  of  your 
Fathers,  remember  that  I 
promise  to  make  you  know  him 
for  your  King,  whom  you  now 
scorn  to  acknowledge  for  your 
Husband. 


Salome  now  stirs  up  the  King's  wrath  against  Tyridates: 

P.  24 

Her  aversion  doth  not  spring 


III,  i,  p.  27 

'Tis  not  her  Kindred's  Blood 

moves  thus  her  mind. 
No;    her  disdain  is  of  another 

kind. 
To  you  a  Rock  she  unrelenting 

stands. 
Yet  Tyridates' s  Love,  her  heart 

commands. 


from  a  resentment  for  the  death 

of  her  Kindred 

That  Rock  so  insensible  to 
your  Caresses,  is  not  so  imre- 
lenting  to  others,  for  that  Par- 
thian ....  does  doubtless  love 
her  with  better  luck  than  you. 

In  a  fury  Herod  rushes  to  Mariamne's  chamber;  her  great 
beauty  calms  him: 


92 


Herbert  Wynford  Hill 


Cleopatra 
P.  26 
those  tempests  which  rage  .... 
grew  calm  in  a  moment;  of  one 
terrible  as  a  Lion,  in  a  few 
minutes  he  became  mild  and 
tractable. 


Herod  and  Mariamne 

III,  ii,  p.  28 
Herod,      I    that    with    horrid 

thoughts  of  Rigour  came. 
Am  of  a  suddain,  how  I  know 

not,  Tame. 
Sure  'tis  not  I — I  am  no  Lyon 

now — 
The    Furies    humbly    to    that 

Sweetness  bow. 

These  parallels,  chosen  from  many,  illustrate  Pordage's 
method.  In  passing,  the  reader  might  notice  especially 
Pordage's  paraphrase  of  Mariamne's  letter  to  Tyridates 
(of.  H.  and  M.,  Ill,  iv;  compare  with  Cleopatra,  p.  27)  of 
Tyridates'  speech  to  Herod  at  the  Temple  gate  (H.  and  ikf., 

III,  vi,   p.  35,  Cleopatra,  p.  31);    of  Mariamne's   speech 
to  Tyridates  when  he  visits  her  for  the  last  time  {H.  and  M., 

IV,  i,  p.  38;  Cleopatra,  p.  32). 

Herod's  speech,  when  he  learns  of  Mariamne's  knowledge 
of  his  orders  to  kill  her,  illustrates  well  the  close  attention 
with  which  Pordage  must  have  read  the  romance: 

IV,  ii,  p.  42  P.  440 

I  am  Betray 'd!    Undone!  I  am  betrayed,  I  am  undone 

Those  who  my  Trust  into  my      ....  all  those  whom  I  thought 


Bosome  drew. 
Forsake    me    and    betray    my 

Secrets  too. 
To    what    Extremities    am    I 

reduc'd, 
By  Slaves  and  a  Disloyel  Wife 

abused. 


worthy  of  my  friendship  and 
my  confidence,  ingratefully 
unite  themselves  to  mine  me. 
Ah!  envious  Heaven!  Ah! 
disloyal  Wife!  Ah!  ungrateful! 
and  perfidious  Servants!  to  what 
extremities  do  you  reduce  me  ? 

Act  V  departs  from  the  romance.  In  Mariamne's  trial 
scene,  however,  Pordage  paraphrases  Cleopatra.  The  speech 
of  one  of  the  judges  will  sufficiently  illustrate  his  indebted- 
ness: 


La  Calprenede's  Romances 


93 


Herod  and  Mariamne 
IV,  ii,  p.  53 

Madam!  we  know 

What  to  your 

Birth  and  quality  we  owe: 

Which  hitherto  we  with  respect 
have  paid. 

The  King  on  us  has  this  In- 
junction laid: 

To  whom  it  is  our   Duty  to 
obey; 

And  you  as  well  as  we  should 
homage  pay: 

You'l  guilty  seem,   if  you  do 
this  refuse. 

Queens   ought  to   clear  them- 
selves when  Kings  accuse. 


Cleopatra 
P.  443 
We  have  rendered  what  we 
owed  to  your  birth  and  quahty, 
as  long  as  it  hath  pleased  the 
King  to  permit  us  and  we  have 
not  sought  an  employment 
which  yet  we  could  not  refuse, 
when  he  was  pleased  to  lay  it 
upon  us:  but  seeing  that  by 
his  absolute  will  we  have  been 
appointed  to  it,  and  that  the 
authority  which  you  have  had 
over  us,  ought  to  submit  to 
his,  you  will  not  find  it  strange, 
if  it  please  you,  that  we  examine 
you  upon  the  accusations  which 
he  himself  lays  against  you. 


Mariamne's  speech  before  she  is  led  away  to  execution 
closely  paraphrases  that  in  the  romance: 


V,  iii,  p.  57 
Mar.    The    blood    of    Philon 

and  Sohemus  shed. 
Will  pull  down  Vengeance  on 

his  guilty  head: 
And  if  my  Death  is  stain'd  by 

any  guilt, 
'Tis   'cause   imprudently   their 

blood  I  spilt. 
For    Tyridates,    I    confess    'tis 

true, 
I    render'd   what   was    to    his 

Vertue  due. 
Acknowledgments    and    Inno- 
cent esteem. 
And  that  was  all  I  ever  gave 

to  him. 


P.  447 
Tell  him  that  the  blood  of 
Joseph  and  Sohemus,  which 
he  hath  shed,  will  cry  for  ven- 
geance against  him:  and  that 
if  I  be  culpable  at  my  death,  it 
is  because,  that  by  my  impru- 
dence, I  have  caused  the  ruine 
of  those  innocent  persons:  As 
for  Tyridates,  I  thank  God,  I 
feel  no  remorse  of  conscience 
that  can  accuse  me  of  the  least 
fault  against  my  Husband,  and 
I  hold  no  other  thoughts  for 
his  person  but  of  acknowledg- 
ment and  esteem  as  due  his 
vertue. 


94  Herbert  Wynford  Hill 

Pordage  has  copied  without  change  the  names  and 
traits  of  La  Calprenede's  characters.  Tyridates  has  taken 
on  some  of  the  traits  of  Artaban;  and  Salome  is  consider- 
ably heightened.  If  as  the  author  claims  the  play  was 
written  in  1662,  Salome  is  distinctly  the  predecessor  of 
Lyndaraxa.  Otherwise  the  characters  are  those  of  the 
romance. 

Gloriana^ 

In  1676  Gloriana  was  acted  at  the  Theatre  Royal.  This 
was  the  third  of  Lee's  plays.^  The  two  preceding — Sopho- 
nisba  and  Nero — are  treatments  of  historical  subjects  in 
thoroughly  romantic  fashion  .^ 

Lee  wrote  plays  drawn  from  three  of  La  Calprenede's 
romances,  Cassandra,^  Cleopatra,^  and  Pharamondf  and  in 
nearly  all  of  his  plays  there  are  signs  of  the  influence  of  the 
French  romancer.'''  Gloriana  was  the  first  of  his  plays,  how- 
ever, indebted  in  a  marked  degree  to  La  Calpren^de.    This, 

1  First  published  1676.     The  title-page  of  the  first  edition  reads: 
"Gloriana,    or   the  Coiirt  of  Augustus  Caesar.     Acted  at  the  Theatre- 
Royal,  By  Their  Majesties  Servants. 

Quibus  haec,  sint  qualiacimque 
Arridere  velim,  doliturus  si  placeant  spe 
Deterius  nostra. — Hor.  Sat.  10. 
By  Nat  Lee,  London, 
Printed  for  J.  Magnes  and  R.  Bentley,  in  Russell-street  in  Covent-Garden,  near 
Piazza's,  Anno  Dom.  MDCLXXVI. 

Other  editions  were  published  in  1699,  1734. 

2  The  title-page  of  the  1699  edition  of  Gloriana  has  at  the  bottom  a  list  of 
"the  works  of  Mr.  Nathaniel  Lee,  in  the  Order  they  were  written,  viz — 
Sophonisba;  or  Hannibals  Overthrow,  Nero,  Gloriana;  or  the  Court  of  Augustus 
Caesar,  Alexander  THE  Great,  Mithridates  King  of  Pontus,  Theodosius;  or  the 
Force  of  Love,  Caesar  Borgia,  Lucius  Brutus,  Constantine,  Oedipus  King  of 
Thrace,  Duke  of  Guise,   Massacre  of  Paris,  Princess  of  Cleves," 

8  Lee  makes  temperate  Scipio  fret  and  rave 
And  Hannibal,  a  whining  Amorous  Slave. 
*  The  Rival  Queens. 
6  Gloriana. 

«  Theodosius,  or  the  Force  of  Love,  acted  at  the  Duke's  Theatre,  1680. 
'  La  Calprenede's  influence  is  most  pronounced  in  the  earlier  plays  ending 
with  Theodosius,  1680.    Lucius  Junius  Brutus,  1681,  was  influenced  by  Scudery's 
Clelia;   The  Princess  of  Cleve,  by  Madame  de  la  Fayette's  Princess  of  Cleves. 


La  Calprenede's  Romances  95 

as  all  the  plays  influenced  by  La  Calpren^de  up  to  this  time, 
was  from  Cleopatra.  Langbaine^  writing  of  the  source  says, 
"The  Plot  I  take  to  be  rather  founded  on  Romance  than 
History,  as  the  Reader  will  find  by  comparing  the  Play  with 
the  Romance  of  Cleopatra,  in  the  several  Stories  of  Caesario, 
Marcellus  and  Julia;  Part  1  Book  3.  Part  5  Book  3. 
Ovid,  Cypassis  and  Julia,  Part  7  Book  3." 

In  the  handling  of  the  story,  however,  Lee  shows  slight 
dependence  on  his  source;  he  exercised  as  much  freedom  as 
with  the  historical  material  of  the  two  earher  plays  Nero  and 
Sophonisba.  The  completed  play  resembles  no  plot  in  all 
La  Calprenede.  There  is,  to  be  sure,  a  Caesario  in  Cleopatra, 
who  bears  marked  resemblance  to  the  hero  of  the  play,  and 
Gloriana  bears  even  more  resemblance  to  Candace  the  heroine 
of  the  Caesario  story  in  Cleopatra;  but  their  fortunes  are 
widely  diverse  and  their  end  far  different:  in  Cleopatra  the 
hero  and  heroine  are  happily  married ;  in  Gloriana  they  suffer 
death.  Marcellus  is  the  Marcellus  of  the  romance  ridicu- 
lously exaggerated,  but  Julia  is  hardly  recognizable :  in  the 
romance  she  is  simply  inconstant,  in  the  play  reflections  are 
cast  upon  her  morals;  in  the  romance  she  is  unmarried  and 
in  love  with  the  hero,  in  the  play  she  is  married  to  Marcellus 
and  nothing  is  said  of  her  love  for  the  hero.  As  for  the 
plot  the  hints  he  gathered  from  La  Calprenede  were  for 
separate  incidents  and  situations  rather  than  for  the  story 
as  a  whole. 

The  important  incidents  and  situations  of  Gloriana  are  as 
follows : 

1.  The  hero,  enemy  to  the  ruler,  and  supposedly  dead, 
returns  to  the  court  of  Augustus  and  is  captured.  (This 
follows  the  Caesario-Candace  story  in  Cleopatra,  Part  II, 
p.  485.) 

1  An  Account  of  the  Dramatic  Poets,  p.  322. 


96  Herbert  Wynford  Hill 

2.  The  hero  is  condemned  to  die.  (This  follows  the 
romance  Cleopatra,  Part  II,  p.  544.) 

3.  The  hero  falls  suddenly  and  violently  in  love  with  the 
heroine.  (This  clearly  follows  the  conventional  lines  rather 
than  the  romance;  in  Cleopatra,  Caesario  renders  his  arms  to 
Candace's  triumphant  beauty  when  she  is  eleven  years  old.) 

4.  The  heroine,  captive  to  the  ruler,  spurns  his  advances; 
he  tries  to  force  her  to  marry  him.  (Lee  has  here  assigned 
to  Augustus  the  role  played  by  Tiribasus  in  the  romance, 
Cleopatra,  Part  I,  175.  Tiribasus  usurps  the  throne  of 
Candace  and  tries  to  force  a  marriage.  The  Augustus  of  the 
romance  is  at  no  time  in  love  with  Candace.  From  here  to 
the  close  the  ruler  is  drawn  from  Tiribasus  rather  than  from 
Augustus.) 

5.  The  hero  rescues  the  heroine  from  the  ruler.  (This  fol- 
lows the  romance,  Cleopatra,  Part  I,  pp.  203 +,  the  ruler 
still  in  the  role  of  Tiribasus.) 

6.  The  hero  and  the  heroine  are  recaptured  by  the  ruler. 
(Here  Lee  departs  from  the  romance;  the  heroine  is  recap- 
tured in  Cleopatra,  Part  I,  pp.  206 +,  but  by  the  pirate 
Zenodorus,  not  by  the  ruler.) 

7.  AH  attempt  by  sacrifice  to  save  the  life  of  the  hero : 

a)  The  hero's  friend.  (This  is  taken  from  the  main  plot 
of  Cleopatra,  where  Marcellus  offers  to  sacrifice  himself  for 
Coriolanus — Part  II,  p.  565 — as  is  the  rest  of  this  scene, 
where  each  wishes  to  sacrifice  himself  for  the  others,  and 
where  other  members  of  the  court  plead  for  the  hero.  This 
is,  however,  conventional;  cf.  The  Siege  of  Rhodes,  and  The 
Conquest  of  Granada. 

h)  The  lovelorn  maiden  sues  successfully  for  the  life  of 
her  hero.     (This  is  apparently  invented  by  the  author.) 

c)  The  heroine  offers  to  marry  the  ruler  to  save  the  hero's 
life. 


La  Calprenede's  Romances  97 

8.  The  lovelorn  maiden  slanders  the  heroine  and  re- 
proached by  the  hero  dies  of  a  broken  heart.  (This  is  not 
in  the  romance.) 

9.  The  friend  of  the  hero,  crazed  with  grief  at  his  sister's 
death,  threatens  the  hero;  reproached  by  the  hero  he  dies 
of  a  broken  heart.     (This  is  not  from  the  romance.) 

10.  The  hero  hastens  to  Augustus'  chamber,  where  the 
heroine,  dagger  in  hand,  is  awaiting  the  ruler's  coming. 
(This  is  not  from  the  Caesario  story  of  Cleopatra.y 

11.  The  heroine  accused  by  the  hero  of  infidelity  kills 
herself.     (This  is  not  from  the  romance.) 

12.  The  ruler  enters  and  kills  the  hero.  (In  the  romance 
the  hero  kills  Tiribasus.) 

As  for  the  plot,  then,  Lee  is  not  greatly  indebted  to  his 
source:  the  first  three  acts  present  a  radical  working-over 
of  some  of  the  incidents  and  situations  of  the  Caesario  story, 
but  the  last  two  acts  follow  the  story  not  at  all,  the  end  being 
tragic  as  in  nearly  all  of  Lee's  plays.  Nor  is  there  any  marked 
indebtedness  of  phrasing.  Occasionally,  however,  a  passage 
stuck  in  Lee's  memory,  and  was  carried  over  into  the  play; 
such  is  the  following,  where  the  hero  addresses  the  ruler  i^ 

Gloriana,  p.  3  Cleopatra,  Part  II,  p.  486 

I  am  by  birth  what  you  adopted     You  are  only  by  adoption  what 
are  I  am  by  birth 

But  there  is  no  dependence  on  the  text  of  Cleopatra;  Lee 
probably  never  consulted  the  romance  during  the  course  of 
the  writing  of  the  play. 

The  characters  of  Gloriana  are  more  or  less  the  stock 
characters  familiar  to  us  in  the  pages  of  The  Conquest  of 

1  Cf.  Pharamond,  Part  I,  p.  270  and  Part  II,  p.  134;  Pharamond  was  not 
translated,  however,  until  the  following  year.  Rowe  in  The  Ambitious  Step- 
Mother  presents  a  somewhat  similar  scene  when  Amestris  stabs  Mirza  when  he 
attempts  to  force  her. 

*  The  scene  and  circumstances  are  the  same  in  both. 


98  Herbert  Wynford  Hill 

Granada.  Caesario  is  the  invincible,  boastful  hero  of  the 
Artaban-Almansor  type.  Like  these  he  has  been  reared 
outside  of  court '} 

A  Souldier,  Fair  one,  bred  to  bloud,  in  Arms, 
In  Winter  Camps  which  mighty  Action  warms; 
I  know  not  Courts,  unskill'd  in  the  soft  trade 
By  which  address  is  to  high  Beauty  made: 

He  tells  her  friends,^ 

Ev'n  in  my  childhood  I  was  more  than  man, 
Bears  in  my  Non-age  slew,  and  Stags  out-ran. 

He  continues  to  tell  her  how  he  killed  a  lion,  thus  saving  his 
mother's  life;  and  his  friend  Leander  not  responding  with 
sufficient  enthusiasm,  he  replies, 

Fall!  by  my  valour!  saw  him!  is  that  all? 

Thou  speaks't  Leander  as  thou  didst  repine; 

Thou  shouldst  have  said,  it  was  an  act  Divine, 

A  God-like  act,  to  see  a  ruddy  Boy 

With  milk  on's  hps,  the  Royal  beast  destroy. 

With  my  gay  Sword,  brandish'd  above  my  Crest, 

O'respread  with  Plumes,  and  with  Queens  favours  dress'd 

I  cros'd  the  Savage,  eager  for  his  prey, 

Who  daunted  with  my  aspect  shun'd  the  fray: 

But  I  out-run  him,  though  he  got  the  start 

And  flesh'd  my  little  Rapier  in  his  heart. 

This  mighty  slayer  of  beasts  is  insolent  and  defiant  to 
the  ruler,  when  captured,  and  even  defies  love,  imploring 
Heaven  never  to  forgive  him  if  he  yields.  But  when  he 
meets  the  heroine,  although  ''with  eyes  quick  rouling 
flame"  the  presence  that  daunted  lions  inspires  her  with 
awe,  he  himself  cries  out:^ 

Why  beats  my  heart  as  I  had  poison  ta'en  ? 
What  means  my  burning  breast  and  giddy  brain  ? 
Swift  thrilling  cold  with  panick  terrour  flies, 

1  Act  II,  p.  15,  first  edition.  2  Act  II,  p.  10,  first  edition. 

5  Act  III,  p.  30,  first  edition. 


La  Calprenede's  Romances  99 

And  an  unsual  thaw  dissolves  my  eyes; 
If  Love  thou  art,  I  will  not  take  the  wound, 
My  Armour  shall  thy  pointed  darts  confound; 
I'le  draw  'em,  if  they  cannot  be  withstood; 
Though  to  the  Feathers  drinking  in  my  blood; 
Then  shake  'em  at  her  eyes  with  fix'd  disdain, 
And  Hurl  'em  to  thy  Godhead  back  again. 

Gloriana  is  the  stock  bright-eyed  heroine,  beautiful, 
languishing,  but  filled  with  dauntless  courage.  The  hero 
describes  her:^ 

But  sure  so  bright  a  fiow'r  on  Earth  ne're  grew: 
Her  lips,  her  cheeks  must  more  than  Roses  be; 
What  Stars  her  eyes,  what  moving  Majesty? 
So  sweet  and  so  imperious  too  they  move. 
Sparkling  with  beauty,  Ghtt'ring  all  with  Love. 

And  later, 2 

more  fair  then  the  red  mornings  dawn. 
Sweeter  then  Pearley  dews  that  scent  the  lawn; 
Then  blue  ey'd  Violets,  or  the  damask  Rose, 
When  in  her  hottest  fragrancy  she  glows. 
And  the  cool  West  her  wafted  odour  blows.' 

She  is  utterly  without  fear  of  death,  openly  defying 
Augustus;  she  even  longs  for  death :^ 

Methinks  I  long  in  those  dark  walks  to  tread. 

And  wrap  my  seK  about  with  honour'd  Lead, 

Where  all  the  Worthies  of  the  Earth  lye  dead, 

Nor  shall  my  Spirit  in  that  pond'rous  case 

Be  kept,  but  shoot  as  rays  through  Chrystal  pass; 

Through  doors  of  death,  with  Mountains  pil'd  on  Rocks, 

With  thousand  Bars,  and  with  ten  thousand  Locks, 

Like  Lightning  she  shall  cut  her  sacred  way 

Through  all,  and  rise  to  everlasting  day. 

1  Act  III,  p.  29,  first  edition. 

2  Act  IV,  p.  45,  first  edition. 

»  Cf.  Twelfth  Night,  opening  lines. 
*P.  36. 


100  Herbert  Wynford  Hill 

She  is  very  cool  as  she  waits,  dagger  in  hand,  the  arrival 
of  Augustus.  And  after  she  has  stabbed  herself  she  finds 
death  less  dreadful  than  the  angry  brow  of  the  hero. 

Marcellus  is  borrowed  from  the  main  plot  of  Cleopatra, 
He  is  the  type  of  the  generous  friend  carried  to  absurd 
extremes. 

Narcissa  is  the  conventional  lovelorn  maiden  but  pos- 
sessed of  more  spirit  than  most  of  her  type.  She  faces 
Gloriana  furiously: 

But  I  will  be  reveng'd,  to  pieces  tear 

Those  borrow'd  eyes,  and  that  inchanted  hair. 

And  in  the  end  she  dies  with  a  lie  on  her  lips  unflinching, 
unrepentant,  longing  as  her  heaven  that  which  alone  can 
give  her  soul  lasting  peace — the  love  of  the  hero. 

Augustus  is  drawn  from  the  character  of  Tiribasus  rather 
than  from  history  or  than  from  the  Augustus  of  the  romance. 
He  is  a  favorite  type  with  Lee:  nearly  all  of  Lee's  rulers  are 
unscrupulous,  lustful,  and  in  love  with  the  heroines;  in 
Mithridates  the  king  is  in  love  with  both  of  his  son's  mis- 
tresses. 

In  the  prologue  to  Nero^  Lee  wrote, 

'Tis  a  fine  Age,  a  tearing  thundering  Age, 

Pray  Heav'n  this  Thund'ring  does  not  crack  the  Stage. 

Just  how  much  of  Lee's  thundering  was  due  to  the  age 
and  how  much  to  his  own  taste  is  hard  to  determine;  both 
were  in  part  responsible.  As  a  young  writer  seeking  money 
and  reputation  he  naturally  would  pander  to  the  styles 
most  in  vogue.  To  this  tendency  he  was  impelled  also  by  the 
example  and  outspoken  encouragement  of  Dryden.^  Fur- 
thermore, he  possessed  a  natural  impetuosity  and  fervor  of 
temperament  that  made  the  assuming  of  a  high  heroic  style 
very  easy.     The  young  man  who  threw  himself  headlong  into 

1  First  edition,  1675.  2  Cf.  below,  p.  113. 


La  Calprenede's  Romances  101 

the  dissipation  of  the  fast  set  of  London  discovered  the  riot- 
ous vein  of  the  heroic  style  much  to  his  liking.  Thus  we 
find  a  certain  naturalness  and  ease  that  approaches  poise 
in  his  most  extreme  outbursts,  and,  when  he  chooses  to 
exercise  restraint,  a  simple  dignity  that  is  delightful.  The 
opening  lines  of  Gloriana  set  the  level  of  the  style: 

Vast  are  the  Glories,  Caesar,  thou  has  won, 
To  make  whose  Triumphs  up,  the  World's  undone: 
The  Indians  from  the  Eastern  parts  remote. 
To  thee  the  Treasure  of  their  Shrines  devote: 
Whole  Trees  of  Coral,  which  they  div'd  for  low. 
That  in  the  walks  of  Neptune's  Palace  grow. 
With  Tritons  trumpeting  on  ev'ry  bough; 
Pearls  which  the  morning  eyes  of  Thetis  pay. 
When  her  cool'd  Lover  bolts  through  waves  away; 
And  Diamonds  that  the  Sun  each  morning  sheds. 
Driving  his  Chariot  o're  their  sooty  heads. 

And  from  this  level  he  drops  only  at  rare  intervals.  Figures 
of  speech  are  frequent :  Augustus  is  compared  to  a  lion  five 
times;  Caesario  speaking  of  the  rescue  of  the  heroine  from 
Augustus  says  (p.  35) : 

I  from  the  den  of  an  old  Beast  of  prey 
Snatch'd,  while  abroad  he  did  for  forage  stray, 
By  this  he  is  returned,  and  finds  her  gone; 
By  this  the  Groves  resound,  and  Forests  groan. 

The  figures  are  often  sustained  through  many  lines  as  in 
the  following,  where  Caesario  addresses  his  friend  (p.  12): 

Revenge  and  Friendship  in  my  bosom  clashed. 
Like  Mountain  billows,  each  the  other  dash'd; 
Still  my  uncertain  soul  each  Tempest  blinds 
Like  a  dark  vessel  driv'n  by  Polar  winds: 
But  you  like  a  propitious  God  arise. 
On  the  blue  Ocean  shine  the  Azure  Skies, 
And  now  the  beaten  mind  at  Anchor  lies. 


102         Herbert  Wynford  Hill 

Marcellus  replies: 

Methinks  I  wish  that  I  had  never  known 
Vertue  like  yours;  so  high,  that  mine  is  none: 
You  as  some  vast  Hill  touching  Heav'n  appear; 
I  at  your  feet  like  a  poor  Valley  near: 
Down  from  your  cloudy  top  refreshings  flow, 
Fast  bounteous  rills,  that  water  me  below: 
Valleys;  but  Vapours  can  to  Heav'n  return, 
And  I  with  sighs  your  falling  favours  mourn. 

And  he  delights  in  balancing  his  figures;    thus  Caesario 

upbraids  Gloriana:^ 

I  came  to  seek  for  painted  vertue  here, 
For  one  exceeding  false,  exceeding  fair; 
For  one  whose  breast  shone  hke  a  Silver  cloud. 
But  did  a  heart  compos'd  of  Thunder  shrowd; 
For  one  more  weeping  than  the  face  of  Nile, 
Whose  Uquid  Chrystal  hides  the  Crocodile; 
For  one  who  like  a  God  from  Heav'n  did  pour 
Rich  rain,  but  lust  was  in  the  golden  showr; 
For  one  who  Hke  Pandora  beauteous  flew, 
But  a  long  train  of  curses  with  her  drew; 
For  one  who  like  a  Rock  of  Diamonds  stood. 
But  hemm'd  with  death,  and  universal  flood. 

At  times  the  figures  become  grotesque  as  in  the  following 
(p.  2): 

And  Crassus,  who  like  some  large  Oak  had  stood 
The  brush  of  warring  winds,  and  showrs  of  blood. 
His  Army  round  him  hke  an  underwood; 
These  Martial  Rangers  root  and  branches  tore, 
And  on  their  Crests  his  trickhng  heart  strings  wore. 

or  again,  Caesario  speaking  (p.  36) : 

All!    Hell-hound,  all  art  thou  resolv'd  to  have  ? 
But  tast  my  heart,  'tis  Royal,  rich  and  good. 
Each  drop's  more  worth  than  Tuns  of  Vulgar  blood. 
Cannot  th'  exhausted  shore  for  once  suffice  ? 
I'le  make  it  up  with  Rivers  from  their  eyes; 
Tears  will  not  make  him  drunk,  the  Slave  replies. 
1  p.  59. 


La  Calprenede's  Romances  103 

This  is  Lee  at  his  worst;  in  Gloriana  he  rarely  touches 
his  best,  and  the  play  never  achieved  any  marked  popu- 
larity. If  Lee  had  stopped  here,  Addison  would  never  have 
said  of  him,  "Among  our  modern  EngHsh  poets  there  is  none 
who  is  better  turned  for  tragedy  than  Lee." 

The  Rival  Queens  ^ 

For  the  material  of  his  next  play  Lee  turned  to  a  subject 
treated  by  La  Calprenede  in  Cassandra.  Although  written 
after  Cassandra,  Cleopatra  had  up  to  this  time  been  most 
copied  by  the  playwrights  largely  it  may  be  supposed  through 
Dryden's  example.  In  the  tremendous  success,  however,  of 
Lee's  The  Rival  Queens,  brought  out  at  the  Theatre  Royal  in 
1677,  Cassandra  came  into  its  own,  and  three  other  plays 
based  on  the  main  plot  of  this  romance  now  followed  in 
rapid  succession.  These  were  Bankes's  Rival  Kings,  1677, 
Pordage's  Siege  of  Babylon,  1678,  and  Cooke's  Love's  Triumph 
1678.2 

i"The  Rival  Queens,  Or  The  Death  of  Alexander  The  Great.  Acted 
at  the  Theatre-Royal.  By  Their  Majesties  Servants.  By  Nat.  Lee,  Gent. 
London,  Printed  for  James  Magnes  and*  Richard  Bentley,  at  the  Post-house  in 
Russel-street  in  Covent  Garden,  near  the  Piazza's,  1677."  Other  editions 
used  were  those  of  1677,  1684,  1690.  1694,  1699.  1702,  1704,  1768,  1785, 
1793,  1805,  1808,  1811,  1815,  1818,  1832.  Unless  otherwise  specified  the  page 
references  are  to  the  first  edition,  1677. 

2  Another  play,  Crowne's  Darius  King  of  Persia  (pub.  1688),  is  on  the 
same  subject.  There  are  many  speeches  that  conform  almost  word  for  word 
to  passages  in  Cassandra.  In  every  case,  however,  where  this  is  true  both 
the  play  and  the  romance  follow  Ciu-tius  (cf.  University  of  Nevada  Studies,  II, 
3,  p.  46).  Crowne  assigns  as  his  source  Curtius.  He  apologizes  for  leaving 
out  Statira  and  her  two  daughters,  "well  known  to  the  World,  whose  misfor- 
times  would  have  probably  mov'd  more  compassion,  than  those  of  a  strange 
Lady,  obscurely  descended  from  my  Fancy,  which  I  have  introduc'd  in  their 
stead."  And  he  gives  as  his  reason  for  the  omission:  "But  when  I  first  con- 
triv'd  and  writ  this  Play,  my  Judgment  was  overborn  by  some  I  much  regard; 
who  told  me,  those  Princesses  had  been  already  seen  very  often,  their  Beauties 
would  now  seem  stale,  and  a  new  Pace  be  more  agreeable."  The  reference 
here  probably  is  to  the  presentation  of  the  princesses  by  Lee,  Bankes,  and 
Pordage.  Cf.  dedicatory  epistle,  1688  edition:  "I  find  him  in  Curtius,  a 
prince  of  valour,  clemency,  justice,  and  great  moral  virtues,"  etc..  referring 
to  Darius. 


104  Herbert  Wynford  Hill 

In  the  scintillating  array  of  heroic  plays  of  this  period 
The  Rival  Queens  was  easily  the  brightest  jewel;  for  one 
hundred  and  fifty  years  its  radiance  dazzled  the  eyes  of 
admiring  audiences.  Colly  Gibber  said  of  it  in  his  auto- 
biography: "There  was  no  one  tragedy  for  many  years 
more  in  favour  with  the  town  than  Alexander, ^^  but  ascribes 
the  success  of  the  play  to  the  merit  of  the  actors/  espe- 
cially to  Betterton  whom  he  praises  highly. ^ 

'^For  the  plot/'  Langbaine  writes,  ''as  far  as  the  author 
has  follow'd  History,  Consult  Aman;  Q.Curtius;  Plutarch^  s 
Life  of  Alexander;  Justin  lib.  11,  12.  Diodorus  Siculus,  lib. 
17  and  18.  Josephus  lib.  11.  cap.  8."  These  references  are 
to  historical  accounts  of  some  of  the  incidents  of  the  play. 
An  examination  of  these  shows  that  Lee  was  indebted  to 
only  one  of  the  accounts,  that  of  Plutarch.  Sidney  Lee 
(D.  of  N.B.)  says,  ''De  La  Calprenede's  novel  Cassandre 
seems  to  have  suggested  some  of  the  scenes."  It  did — or 
to  be  exact — Sir  Charles  CotterelFs  translation  furnished 
some  suggestions  for  the  principal  plot  and  the  outline  for 
the  subplot  together  with  some  of  the  phrasing. 

The  main  plot  recounts  Alexander's  tribulations  as  the 
husband  of  two  wives,  Statira  and  Roxana,  tells  briefly  of  his 
tyrannical  punishment  of  those  who  in  any  way  opposed  him, 

1  "To  what  must  we  impute  this  its  command  of  public  admiration?" 
he  asks.  "Not  to  its  intrinsic  merit  surely,  if  it  swarms  with  passages  like 
this  I  have  shown  you.  If  this  passage  has  merit,  let  us  see  what  figure  it 
would  make  upon  canvass — what  sort  of  pictvu-e  would  rise  from  it.  If 
Le  Brim  who  was  famous  for  painting  the  battles  of  this  hero,  had  seen  this 
lofty  description,  what  one  image  could  he  have  possibly  taken  from  it  ?  In 
what  colors  would  he  have  shown  us  '  glory  perched  upon  a  beaver '  ?  How 
wovdd  he  have  drawn  'fortune  trembling '  ?  Or,  indeed,  what  use  could  he 
have  made  of  '  pale  fates, '  or  immortals  riding  upon  billows,  with  this  bluster- 
ing god  of  his  own  making  at  the  head  of  them  ?  Where  then  must  have  lain 
the  charm  that  since  made  the  public  so  partial  to  this  tragedy?  Why, 
plainly  in  the  grace  and  harmony  of  the  actor's  utterance." 

2  In  expression  of  his  contempt  for  the  play  he  wrote  a  biu-lesque  called 
The  Rival  Queans  with  the  Humours  of  Alexander  the  Great,  a  Comical  Tragedy, 
a  one-act  play  performed  on  Jmie  29,  1710.  This  is  wholly  lacking  in  merit 
and  pointless. 


La  Calprenede's  Romances  105 

and  ends  with  his  death  and  that  of  Statira.  This  is  not 
at  all  the  story  as  handled  by  La  Calpren^de.  In  Cassandra, 
Oroondates  is  the  hero;  it  is  through  a  bit  of  treachery  that 
Statira  is  married  to  Alexander;  both  she  and  Roxana  are 
in  love  with  Oroondates,  not  with  Alexander.  Lee,  by  omit- 
ting Oroondates,  shifts  the  affection  of  the  two  women  to 
Alexander  thus  greatly  heightening  the  jealousy  between  the 
two.  In  the  romance  Statira  is  not  killed — a  slave  being 
killed  in  her  place.  It  would  seem  that  Lee  followed  history 
rather  than  La  Calprenede,  and  yet  there  are  certain  indi- 
cations which  will  be  taken  up  shortly  pointing  to  the  influ- 
ence of  Cassandra.  In  the  subplot  the  influence  is  at  once 
apparent.  Lysimachus  is  in  love  with  Parisatis  who  is 
promised  by  Alexander  to  Hephestion.  Lysimachus  fights 
with  his  rival  and  for  this  and  his  temerity  in  frankly  claim- 
ing Parisatis  against  the  wishes  of  Alexander  he  is  condemned 
to  fight  in  single  combat  with  a  lion.  In  this  combat  he  is 
successful,  and  for  his  bravery  he  is  pardoned  and  given  an 
equal  chance  for  Parisatis.  Hephestion  fortunately  dies 
and  Lysimachus  claims  the  lady  of  his  heart's  desire.  This 
is  practically  the  story  as  given  by  La  Calprenede,  and  with 
the  exception  of  the  lion  episode  is  not  found  in  history. 
A  few  parallels  will  show  how  closely  Lee  follows  his  source, 
the  romance. 

Lysimachus'  request  of  King  Alexander  for  Parisatis  is 
a  fairly  close  rendering  of  the  original. 

The  Rival  Queens,  II,  p.  20  Cassandra,  p.  136 

Lysimachus  opens  his  speech  with 

E're  you  remove  be  pleas'd,  I  come,  Sir,  to  beg  of  your 
dread  Sir,  to  hear  A  Prince  Majesty,  what  a  Prince  who 
ally'd  to  you  by  Blood.  hath  the  honour  to  be  of  your 

blood  hopes  he  may  obtain. 


106 


Herbert  Wynford  Hill 


The  Rival  Queens 
Lysimachus  continues  his 

I  never    fail'd    to    obey  your 

Majesty, 
Whilst  you  commanded  what 

was  in  my  power, 
Nor  cou'd  Hephestion  fly  more 

swift  to  serve, 
When  you   commanded   us   to 

storm  a  Town, 
Or  fetch  a  Standard  from  the 

Enemy, 
But  when  you  charge  me  not 

to  love  the  Princess, 
I  must  confess,  I  disobey  you, 

as 
I  wou'd  the  Gods  themselves, 

should  they  command. 

Alexander  replies: 

In  the   mean   time    think  not 

of  Parisatis: 
For  if  thou  dost,   by  Jupiter 

Ammon, 
By  my  own  Head,  and  by  King 

Philip's  Soul, 
I'le  not  respect  that  Blood  of 

mine  thou  shar'st. 
But    use    thee    as    the    vilest 

Macedonian. 


Cassandra 

argument : 

I  never  failed  of  my  obe- 
dience to  your  Majesty,  while 
you  required  no  other  proofs 
of  it,  but  such  as  were  within 
my  power;  and  Hephestion 
never  obeyed  you  more  readily 
than  I,  whenso're  you  com- 
manded us  to  assault  a  wall, 
or  charge  into  a  Battalion; 
when  you  forbad  me  to  love 
Parisatis,  I  confess  I  disobeyed 
you,  as  I  should  have  done  the 
Gods  themselves,  if  they  had 
imposed  the  same  command 
upon  me. 


In  the  mean  time  I  forbid 
you  ....  ever  to  look  upon 
Parisatis;  and  I  protest  to  you 
by  Jupiter  Hammon,  and  by 
the  soul  of  King  Philip,  that  if 
you  disobey  what  I  command, 
by  all  the  authority  I  have  over 
you,  I  will  have  no  respect  at 
all  unto  your  birth,  but  will 
submit  you  to  the  severity  of 
our  Laws,  as  the  meanest 
Macedonian. 

At  the  point  where  Alexander  commands  the  guards  to 
take  Lysimachus  prisoner,  Lee  follows  La  Calprenede 
closely.  If  he  did  not  write  with  the  romance  before  him, 
he  certainly  carried  to  the  writing  a  vivid  recollection  of  it, 
as  the  following  parallels  will  indicate. 


La  Calprenede's  Romances 


107 


The  Rival  Queens,  p.  25 
Alexander.    I  charge  you,  kill 

him  not,  take  him  ahve; 
The  dignity  of  Kings  is  now 

concerned. 
And  I  will  find  a  way  to  tame 

this  Beast. 


Sure  we,  at  last,  shall  conquer 

this  fierce  Lion: 
Hence  from  my  sight,  and  bear 

him  to  a  Dungeon: 
Perdiccas  give  this  Lion  to  a 

Lion. 


Cassandra,  p.  141 
....  commanding  me  to  be 
taken  ahve  ....  he  said  thus. 
....  The  dignity  of  all  Kings 
is  concerned  in  my  affront. 
....  I  will  find  out  punish- 
ments which  shall  be  able  to 
tame  this  rage 

Lysimachus  is  a  Lyon,  but 
we  will  use  him  hke  a  Lyon, 
and  shall  perchance  be  able  to 
quench  this  fierceness. 

After  these  words  he  com- 
manded I  should  be  carried  to 
the  dungeon  ....  (and  later 
p.  142) 

Lysimachus  (sales  he)  braves 
us  hke  a  Lion;  but  we  have 
tamed  both  Lions  and  Ele- 
phants, and  will  make  his  grave 
in  the  bellies  of  those  beasts  he 
imitates. 

In  the  messenger  scene,  where  Clytus  and  Hephestion 
tell  of  the  combat  between  Lysimachus  and  the  lion,  Lee 
follows  La  Calprenede  very  closely: 


The  Rival  Queens,  p.  45 
Heph.     Unarm'd    all    but    his 

hands,  on  which  he  wore 
A  pair  of  Gauntlets;   such  was 

his  desire. 
To  shew  in  death  the  difference 

betwixt 
The  bloud  of  the  Aeacides,  and 

common  men. 
Clytus.   At  last  the  door  of  an 

old  Lyons  den 


Cassandra,  p.  143 
....  let  one  of  your  Guards 
lend  me  but  his  Gantlets"  .  .  .  . 
"my  intention  but  onely  to  give 
you  ....  some  knowledge  of 
the  difference  there  is  between 
Lysimachus  and  ordinary  per- 
sons 

....  The  door   of   a   Httle 
room  where  he  was  kept,  being 


108 


Herbert  Wynford  Hill 


The  Rival  Queens 
Being    drawn    up,    the    horrid 

Beast  appeared: 
Heph.    When  we   arriv'd,  just 

as  the  vahant  Prince 
Cry'd  out,  0  Parisatis  take  my 

Ufe, 
Clytus.    Then  walking  forward, 

the  large  Beast  descry' d 
His  prey,  and  with  a  roar  that 

made  us  pale. 
Flew  fiercely  on  him;    but  the 

active  Prince 
Starting  aside,  avoided  his  first 

shock, 
With  a  slight  hurt,  and  as  the 

Lyon  turn'd. 
Thrust  Gauntlet,  arm  and  all 

into  his  throat, 
And  with  Herculean  force  tore 

forth  by  th'  roots 
The    foaming    bloudy    tongue; 

and  while  the  Savage, 
Faint  with  that  loss,  sunk  to 

the  blushing  Earth 
To   plough  it  with  his   teeth, 

yon  conqu'ring  Souldier 
Leap'd  on  his  back,  and  dash'd 

his  skull  to  pieces. 


Cassandra 
drawn  up,  that  fierce  creature 
no  sooner  saw  the  light,   but 
he  came  out  of  his  Den, 

0  Parisatis!  (cryed  I)  receive 
this  noble  sacrifice 

1  had  not  made  an  end  of 
these  words  when  the  Lyon 
flew  at  me  so  fiercely,  and  so 
suddenly,  that  I  had  much  ado 
to   avoid   the   first   encounter; 


but  seeing  his  jaws  open  and 
frothy  with  foam  and  blood,  I 
chopp'd  my  hand  suddenly  into 
his  throat;  my  Gauntlet  de- 
fended me  from  his  teeth 
....  I  took  him  by  the  tongue 
....  I  tore  it  out  by  the 
very  roots:  The  Lyon  lost  his 
strength  by  the  extremity  of 
that  pain,  and  discharging  the 
rest  of  his  rage  against  the 
Earth,  which  he  dig'ed  up  with 
his  teeth,  and  watred  with  his 
blood,  he  gave  me  the  leisure  to 
beat  his  skull  in  pieces  with  my 
Gauntlets. 


La  Calprenede  got  the  suggestion  of  this  remarkable 
method  of  killing  a  lion  from  Justin^  whose  account  runs  as 
follows : 


1  Justinus:    Historiae  Philippicae.   lib.   XV.   Cap.  3.  Protscher  ed.,  1827. 
The  incident  is  barely  referred  to  by  Plutarch,  Demetrius  (Clough  ed.,  V,  122) ; 


La  Calprenede's  Romances  109 

Quod  adeo  aegre  Alexander  tulit,  ut  eum  abiici  ferocissimo 
leoni  juberet.  Sed  cum  ad  conspectum  eius  concitatus  leo  impetum 
fecisset,  manum  amiculo  involutam  Lysimachus  in  os  leonis  immer- 
sit,  abreptaque  lingua,  feram  exanimavit.  Quod  cum  nuntiatum 
regi  esset,  admiratio  in  satisf actionem  cessit;  careoremque  eum 
propter  constantiam  tantae  virtutis  habuit. 

But  there  is  no  evidence  that  Lee  consulted  any  other 
account  than  La  Calprenede's. 

In  the  main  plot  there  are  a  few  points  of  resemblance 
which  should  be  noted. 

Roxana's  account  of  her  falling  in  love  with  Alexander  is 
taken  partly  from  La  Calprenede's  account  of  Hermione's 
falling  in  love  with  Alexander  and  partly  from  La  Calpre- 
nede's account  of  Roxana's  first  sight  of  Alexander.  From 
neither  source  has  Lee  taken  much  of  the  phrasing,  but  the 
relationship  is  unmistakable.  Hermione  {Cassandraj  291) 
tells  how  she  fell  in  love  with  Alexander. 

I  heard  his  exploits  recounted  with  admiration,  and  when  they 
talk'd  to  me  of  the  greatness  of  his  courage,  of  that  boiling,  and 
generous  ardour  which  made  him  rush  headlong  into  the  thickest 
of  his  Enemies,  of  his  moderation  in  victory,  of  his  gallant  fashion, 
of  his  youth,  and  of  the  grace  which  accompanied  all  his  actions, 
I  felt  my  heart  insensibly  won. 

Roxana's  account  {The  Rival  Queens,  p.  27)  runs  as 
follows : 

But  when  I  heard  of  Alexander's  Conquests, 
How  with  a  handfull  he  had  MilUons  slain. 
Spoiled  all  the  East,  their  Queens  his  Captives  made, 
Yet  with  what  Chastity,  and  God-like  temper 
He  saw  their  Beauties,  and  with  pity  bow'd; 
Methought  I  hung  upon  my  Father's  lips. 

by  Pausanias,  1,  9,  5;  by  Pliny,  H.N.^  viii,  21;  by  Valerius  Maximus,  ix,  3; 
by  Seneca:  de  Ira,  iii,  17;  and  by  Q.  Curtius,  viii,  1.  Curtius  refers  to 
Lysimachus'  killing  a  lion  single  handed  while  hunting  in  Syria  and  scoflfs  at  the 
story  of  the  combat  in  the  lion's  den  as  a  fable  built  upon  the  Syrian  exploit. 
No  one  of  these  writers  except  Justin  gives  the  details  of  the  combat. 


110  Herbert  Wynford  Hill 

La  Calprenede  (Cassandra,  90)  brings  Roxana  and  Alex- 
ander together  at  a  banquet  given  by  her  father  celebrating 
his  own  defeat  at  the  hands  of  Alexander;  Roxana  is  one 
of  thirty  ladies  chosen  to  wait  on  the  table,  and  attracts 
Alexander's  attention  by  her  beauty.  Lee's  account  {The 
Rival  Queens,  p.  27)  is  the  same  except  that  the  number  of 
the  ladies  waiting  on  the  table  is  raised  to  fifty. 

In  the  omens  foreshadowing  Alexander's  death  Lee 
secured  his  material  from  Plutarch  in  part;  but  even  here 
La  Calprenede's  influence  was  considerable.  Plutarch  lays 
much  stress  on  the  fact  that  Alexander  was  disturbed  by  the 
omens;  La  Calprenede  stresses  the  fact  that  Alexander  was 
not  disturbed  by  them;  and  Lee  follows  La  Calprenede. 
The  presentation  of  one  omen  occurring  in  all  three  will 
illustrate  this — the  battle  of  the  crows.  Plutarch  writes 
of  Alexander  being  warned  by  soothsayers  not  to  enter 
Babylon.  1 

Alexander  however,  took  no  thought  of  it,  and  went  on,  and 
when  he  came  near  the  walls  of  the  place,  he  saw  a  great  many 
crows  fighting  with  one  another,  some  of  whom  fell  down  just  by 
him.  After  this,  being  privately  informed  that  ApoUodorus,  the 
governor  of  Babylon,  had  sacrificed,  to  know  what  would  become 
of  him,  he  sent  for  Pythagoras,  the  soothsayer,  and  on  his  admit- 
ting the  thing,  asked  him,  in  what  condition  he  found  the  victim; 
and  when  he  told  him  the  liver  was  defective  in  its  lobe,  "A  great 
presage  indeed!"  said  Alexander.  However,  he  offered  Pythagoras 
no  injury,  but  was  sorry  that  he  had  neglected  Nearchus'  advice, 
and  stayed  for  the  most  part  outside  the  town,  removing  his  tent 
from  place  to  place,  and  sailing  up  and  down  the  Euphrates.  Besides 
this,  he  was  disturbed  by  many  other  prodigies. 

After  enumerating  some  of  these,  Plutarch  proceeds: 

When  once  Alexander  had  given  way  to  fears  of  supernatural 
influence,  his  mind  grew  so  disturbed  and  so  easily  alarmed  that, 
if  the  least  unusual  or  extraordinary  thing  happened,  he  thought 
1  Clough  ed.,  IV,  250. 


La  Calprenede's  Romances  111 

it  a  prodigy  or  a  presage,  and  his  court  was  thronged  with  diviners 
and  priests  whose  business  was  to  sacrifice  and  purify  and  foretell 
the  future.  So  miserable  a  thing  is  incredulity  and  contempt  of 
divine  power  on  the  one  hand,  and  so  miserable,  also,  superstition 
on  the  other,  which  like  water,  where  the  level  has  been  lowered, 
flowing  in  and  never  stopping,  fills  the  mind  with  slavish  fears 
and  foUies,  as  now  in  Alexander's  case. 

La  Calpren^de  presents  the  incident  as  follows  (Cas- 
sandra, 152): 

This  reason  made  him  hasten  his  Voyage,  or  rather  the  power 
of  his  destinies  forced  him  in  spite  of  presages,  and  the  counsels 
of  his  friends.  Being  near  the  walls,  a  flock  of  crowes,  after  they 
had  fought  a  great  while  before  him  fell  some  of  them  dead  at  his 
feet;  but  he  mocked  at  that  adventure,  and  told  his  Sooth-sayers, 
it  was  not  able  to  daunt  a  gallant  courage.  He  entred  into  that 
fatal  Town,  where  he  was  received  with  great  Pomp  and  mag- 
nificence. 

Lee's  account  in  characteristic  style  runs  thus: 

Perd.     As  Meleager,  and  my  self  in  Field, 

Your  Persian  Horse  about  the  Army  wheel'd: 
We  heard  a  noise,  as  of  a  rushing  Wind, 
And  a  thick  Storm  the  Eye  of  Day  did  bhnd: 
A  croaking  noise  resounded  through  the  air. 
We  look'd,  and  saw  big  Ravens  battling  there: 
Each  Bird  of  Night  appear'd  himself  a  cloud. 
They  met,  and  fought,  and  their  Wounds  rain'd  black 
Blood. 

Alexander  replies: 

Be  witness  for  me,  all  ye  Powers  Divine, 
If  ye  be  angry,  'tis  no  fault  of  mine; 
Therefore  let  Furies  face  me,  with  a  Band 
From  Hell,  my  Virtue  shall  not  make  a  Stand; 
Though  all  the  Curtains  of  the  Skie  be  drawn. 
And  the  Stars  wink,  young  Ammon  shall  go  on.^ 

And  in  this  decision  he  remains  firm  throughout  the  play. 

1  The  Rival  Queens,  p.  19. 


112 


Herbert  Wynford  Hill 


In  the  account  of  the  death  of  Statira,  of  Hephestion,  and 
especially  in  that  of  Clytus,  Lee  faithfully  renders  Plutarch. 
When  he  wrote  the  account  of  the  death  of  Alexander, 
however,  he  again  fingered  the  pages  of  Cassandra.  La 
Calprenede  clearly  follows  Justin's  account  and  Quintus 
Curtius'  account  of  Alexander's  death  rather  than  Plutarch's; 
and,  just  as  clearly,  Lee  follows  La  Calprenede  rather  than 
Justin  or  Curtius  when  introducing  details  not  found  in 
Plutarch.  If  Lee  knew  of  Justin's  or  Curtius'  accounts  he 
evidently  didn't  take  the  trouble  to  look  them  up.  One 
incident  will  sufficiently  illustrate  the  chain  of  indebtedness, 
an  incident  not  found  in  Plutarch,  but  occurring  in  Justin, 
and  in  Quintus  Curtius,  La  Calprenede,  and  Lee. 


Justin,  XII,  15 

Sexto  die  praeclusa 
voce,  exemptum  di- 
gito  anulum  Perdic- 
cae  tradidit:  quae 
res  glisamicorum  dis- 
sensionen  sedavit. 


La  Calprenede,  Cas- 
sandra, p.  153 

and  pulling  a  ring 
off  from  his  finger 
he  gave  it  to  Perdic- 
cas  commanding  him 
to  take  care  of  his 
Burial,  and  to  cause 
his  body  to  be  carried 
to  the  Temple  of 
Jupiter  Hammon: 

Perdiccas  asked 
him  last  of  all,  when 
he  desired  to  have 
those  honours  given 
him,  which  are  due 
unto  the  Gods,  and 
to  those  who  like 
him,  had  gloriously 
acquired  a  place  in 
the  Heavens.  When 
you  (said  he)  are  all 
happy,  and  in  peace. 


Lee,   The  Rival 
Queens,  p.  63 

Alex.  Perdiccas,  take 
this  Ring, 

And  see  me  laid  in 
the  Temple  of 
Jupiter  Amman. 

Perd.  When  will 
you,  sacred  Sir, 
that  we  should  give 

To  your  great  mem- 
ory those  Divine 
Honours, 

Which  such  exalted 
Virtue  does  de- 
serve ? 

Alex.  When  you 
are  all  most  hap- 
py, and  in  peace. 


La  Calprenede's  Romances  113 

The  relationship  is  unmistakable.  La  Calpren^de  followed 
Justin  and  Curtius,  and  Lee  paraphrased  La  Calpren^de.^ 

The  style  of  The  Rival  Queens  is  distinctly  heroic.  Dry- 
den  wrote  of  the  play  (in  verses  prefaced  to  the  edition  of 
1677): 

Such  praise  is  yours,  while  you  the  Passions  move, 
That  'tis  no  longer  feign'd;  'tis  real  Love: 
Where  Nature  Triumphs  over  wretched  Art; 
We  only  warm  the  Head,  but  you  the  Heart: 
Always  you  warm!  and  if  the  rising  Year, 
As  in  hot  Regions,  bring  the  Sun  too  near, 
'Tis  but  to  make  your  Fragrant  Spices  blow, 
Which  in  our  colder  Climates  will  not  grow. 
They  only  think  you  animate  your  Theme 
With  too  much  Fire  who  are  themselves  all  Phle'me; 
Prizes  wou'd  be  for  Lags  of  slowest  pace, 
Were  Cripples  made  the  Judges  of  the  Race. 
Despise  those  Drones,  who  praise  while  they  accuse 
The  too  much  vigor  of  your  youthful  Muse: 
That  humble  Stile  which  they  their  Virtue  make, 
Is  in  your  pow'r;  you  need  but  stoop  and  take. 
Your  beauteous  Images  must  be  allow'd 
By  all,  but  some,  vile  Poets  of  the  Crowd: 
But  how  shou'd  any  Sign-post  dawber  know 
The  worth  of  Titian,  or  of  Angela  ? 
Hard  Features  ev'ry  Bungler  can  command; 
To  draw  true  Beauty  shews  a  Master's  Hand. 
The  line 

The  too  much  vigor  of  your  Youthful  Muse 
sums  up  tersely  and  accurately  the  merits  and  deficiencies  of 
Lee's  style. 

Lee  indulges  in  few  descriptions.  The  incomparable 
Statira  is  not  sketched  more  fully  than  in  such  phrases  as 

1  Curtius'  account  is  even  closer  to  that  of  La  Calprenede  (Book  X) : 
"He  took  his  ring  off  his  finger,  and  gave  it  to  Perdiccas,  enjoining  him  to 

convey  his  body  to  Hanunon Perdiccas  then  desiring  to  know,  when 

he  would  have  his  divine  honours  paid  him  ?   he  reply'd.     When  they  them- 
selves were  happy." — Digby's  tr.  (1747),  Vol.  II,  p.  186. 


114  Herbert  Wynford  Hill 

'Hhe  Star  that  guides  my  life''  spoken  by  Alexander  who  has 

just  described  her  as 

all  softness, 
All  melting,  mild,  and  calm  as  a  rock'd  Infant.^ 

There  is  no  description  of  natural  scenery  although  on 
one  occasion  Alexander  longs  for  the  country. 

Thus  Palaces  in  prospect  barr  the  Eye, 

Which  pleas'd,  and  free,  wou'd  o're  the  Cottage  fly; 

O're  flow'ry  Lands  to  the  gay  distant  Skie. 

Farewell  then  Empire,  and  the  Racks  of  Love; 

By  all  the  Gods,  I  will  to  wilds  remove. 

Stretch' d  like  a  Sylvan  God  on  Grass  lye  down, 

And  quite  forget  that  e're  I  wore  a  crown.^ 

The  heroic  feature  of  Lee's  style  consists  largely  in  simple 
exaggeration.  Sometimes  the  exaggeration  has  a  point,  as 
where  Cassander  purposely  exaggerates  Alexander's  glory: 

All  Nations  bow  their  heads  with  homage  down. 

And  kiss  the  Feet  of  this  exalted  Man; 

The  Name,  the  Shout,  the  Blast  from  every  Mouth 

Is  Alexander,  Alexander  bursts 

Your  Cheeks,  and  with  a  crack  so  loud 

It  drown's  the  Voice  of  Heaven,  etc.^ 

And  again  in  Alexander's  boasting  where  Lee  is  following  the 
precedent  set  by  Artaban,  Alamanzor,  and  other  mighty 
heroes : 

When  glory,  Uke  the  dazzling  Eagle,  stood 
Perch'd  on  my  Bever  in  the  Granick  Flood. 
When  Fortun's  self  my  Standard  trembhng  bore 
And  the  pale  Fates  stood  frighted  on  the  Shore 
When  the  Immortals  on  the  Billows  rode, 
And  I  my  self  appear'd  the  leading  God.'* 

Again: 

Yes,  I  will  shake  this  Cupid  from  my  arms. 
If  all  the  rages  of  the  Earth  can  fright  him; 
Drown  him  in  the  deep  bowl  of  Hercules; 

I  p.  24.  2  p.  26.  3  p.  6.  4  P.  18. 


La  Calprenede's  Romances  115 

Make  the  World  drunk,  and  then  like  Aeolus, 
When  he  gave  passage  to  the  struggling  winds, 
I'le  strike  my  Spear  into  the  reeling  Globe 
To  let  it  bloud;  set  Babylon  in  a  blaze, 
And  drive  this  God  of  flames  with  more  consuming  fire.* 
Alexander's  physical  condition  where  he  lies  racked  by 

fever  at  the  point  of  death  might  account  for  his  conception 

of  the  Horses  of  the  Sun: 

....  hot,  their  Mangers  full  of  coals. 
Their  Mains  are  flakes  of  Lightning,  curls  of  Fire, 
And  their  red  Tails  like  Meteors  whisk  about.^ 

But  the  torments  of  the  tender  passion  hardly  save  such 

passages  as  the  following: 

Trembling,  and  horrour,  pierce  me  cold  as  Ice. 
Is  she  not  well  ?  what,  none,  none  answer  me  ? 
Or  is  it  worse  ?    Keep  down  ye  rising  Sighs, 
And  murmur  in  the  hollow  of  my  Breast: 
Run  to  my  Heart,  and  gather  more  sad  Wind; 
That  when  the  voice  of  Fate  shall  call  you  forth. 
Ye  may,  at  one  rush,  from  the  Seat  of  Life, 
Blow  the  Blood  out,  and  burst  me  like  a  Bladder.^ 

Fortunately  excesses  of  this  sort  are  not  numerous;  other- 
wise we  should  be  tempted  to  agree  with  Lord  Rochester  in 
classing  Lee  ''a  hot-brained  fustian  fool";  or  to  deplore  with 
Granville^  ''how  little  notice  is  taken  of  the  noble  and  sub- 
lime thoughts  and  expressions  of  Mr.  Dry  den  and  what  ap- 
plause is  given  to  the  rants  and  fustian  of  Mr.  Lee."  How- 
ever, it  must  be  admitted  that  Lee  possesses  certain  elements 
of  strength :  his  heroics  are  exuberant  and  spontaneous,  and 
there  is  a  certain  point  to  even  his  wildest  flights.  It  is  far 
superior  to  his  preceding  plays :  it  possesses  more  restraint, 
the  figures  are  better  conceived  and  more  fittingly  applied,  and 
there  is  less  of  the  grotesque.  Compared  with  the  next  play 
to  be  considered,  The  Rival  Queens  is  a  paragon  of  excellence. 

1  p.  35.    2  P.  63.    3  P.  22  (Alexander  speaking) .    *  Preface  to  Heroic  Love,  1698 . 


116  Herbert  Wynford  Hill 

The  Siege  of  Babylon^ 
On  November  2,  1677,  another  play  dealing  with  the 
fortunes  of  the  incomparable  Statira  was  licensed,  and  not 
long  after  the  performance  of  Lee's  Rival  Queens  at  the 
Theatre  Royal,  was  presented  at  the  Duke's  Theatre.  This 
play,  The  Siege  of  Babylon,'^  by  Samuel  Pordage,  opens  the 
story  of  Statira  where  Lee  closes  it.  In  the  epilogue  to 
The  Siege  of  Babylon  Statira  says. 

At  one  House,  I  am,  by  Roxana,  slain. 

But  see,  at  this,  I  am  alive  again, 

And  spite,  of  all  her  cruelty,  and  rage, 

I  Live,  am  Queen,  and  Triumph,  on  the  Stage. 

The  unscrupulous  Roxana  holds  Statira  captive  in  Babylon, 
and  the  plot  is  concerned  with  her  rescue  by  the  hero  Oroon- 
dates  and  his  friends.  The  play  opens  with  a  duel  between 
Lysimachus  and  Ptolomey  for  the  hand  of  Parisatis,  a  modi- 
fication of  the  Lysimachus-Hephestion  duel  of  the  romance.^ 
Oroondates,  the  hero  of  the  play  as  of  the  romance,  scales 
the  wall  of  Babylon  single  handed  and  is  captured.  He  is 
brought  before  Roxana,  who  confesses  her  love  for  him. 
He  rejects  her.  She  attempts  to  kill  him  but  is  so  overcome 
by  his  presence  that  she  cannot  strike  the  blow.^    She  now 

1  The  title-page  of  the  first  and  only  edition  reads,  "The  Siege  of  Baby- 
lon As  it  is  Acted  at  the  Dukes  Theatre.  Written  by  Samuel  Pordage,  of 
Lincoln's-Inn,  Esq;    Author  of  the  Tragedy  of  Herod  and  Mariamne. 

Non  tibi  plus  placeas,  quia  multis  forte  placebis: 

Id  specta  potius,  quaUbus  ipse  places. — Manei.  de  Quat.  Virt. 

Licensed,  Nov.  2.  1677.  Roger  L'Estrange.  London,  Printed  for  Rich- 
ard Tonson,  at  his  shop  under  Grays-Inn  Gate  next  Grays-Inn-Lane, 
MDCLXXVIII." 

2  Published  1678.    The  British  Museum  catalogue  lists  but  the  one  edition. 

3  Cf.  also  The  Rival  Queens  and  The  Rival  Kings. 

*  The  hero  of  Cassandra  has  a  presence  so  sublime  that  (cf.  p.  551)  when 
bound  and  in  prison  the  fire  in  his  eyes  and  marks  of  divinity  on  his  face  dis- 
may the  arm  lifted  against  him  so  that  it  sinks  without  effect.  In  Cleopatra, 
Part  II,  p.  295,  Caesario  tells  how  his  remarkable  beauty  causes  the  weapon 
of  a  furious  woman  to  fall  from  her  hand  as  she  is  on  the  point  of  killing  him. 


La  Calprenede's  Romances  117 

plots  the  death  of  Statira;  and  the  details  lead  up  to  the 
chief  scene  in  the  play.  This  centers  around  a  four-cornered 
situation,  where  Roxana  threatens  Statira  with  death;  and 
Perdiccas  threatens  Oroondates,  each  being  deterred  by  the 
threat  of  the  other.  Statira  and  Parisatis  are  put  through 
a  mock  execution.  Perdiccas,  thinking  Statira  dead,  releases 
the  hero  and  helps  him  win  the  city.  Roxana  stabs  herself, 
Perdiccas  goes  off  to  the  wars,  and  Oroondates  marries 
Statira.  Such  in  brief  is  the  main  plot  of  the  play.  In  all 
essential  details  it  is  the  plot  of  the  romance. 

Pordage  attempted  to  crowd  into  the  play  two  full- 
fledged  duplicating  plots  from  Cassandra — the  Lysimachus- 
Parisatis  plot  and  the  Oroondates-Thalestris  plot.  Neither 
Lee  nor  Bankes  succeeded  in  handling  one  duplicating  plot — 
the  Lysimachus-Parisatis  plot — to  much  advantage;  and 
Pordage's  failure  in  attempting  two  is  not  to  be  wondered  at. 
These  subplots  are  so  faintly  sketched  that  a  reader  un- 
familiar with  Cassandra  would  have  great  difficulty  in  follow- 
ing their  hazy  wanderings  through  the  play.  Their  appear- 
ance at  irregular  intervals  only  furnishes  unnecessary 
complications  and  confusion.  The  words  of  M.C.  to  his 
most  Honoured  Friend  prefaced  to  ''Four  New  Playes"  by 
Wm.  Killigrew  (1666)  might  be  very  well  applied  to  the 
plot  of  Pordage's  play: 

The  whole  Intrigue  a  Labyrinth,  which  you 
Through  all  the  windings  furnish  with  a  Clue, 
By  which  the  wandring  Traveller  is  Ledde 
Through  wayes  past  finding  out  but  by  your  Thred 
The  Plot  and  Scenes  wrapt  up  in  such  disguise 
As  when  a  fine  Cloud  darkens  the  bright  skies. 

Pordage  has  not  to  any  considerable  extent  borrowed  the 
phrasing  of  La  Calprenede,  although  at  times  he  paraphrases 
rather  closely.     The  following  parallel  extracts  from  the 


118 


Herbert  Wynford  Hill 


scene  where  the  hero  and  heroine  are  threatened  with  death 
by  their  rivals  will  illustrate  the  nature  of  his  indebtedness: 


The  Siege  of  Babylon 

Act  III,  p.  32 

Roxa.    Ingrateful  as  thou  art, 

thou  shalt  not  dye 
Thy  Life  is  safe  enough,  whilst 

I  am  by; 
For  with  my  own,  I  will  thy 

Life  defend. 
And   though   thou   hatest   me, 

shew  my  self  thy  Friend. 
Oron.   Since  to  Statira  you  'ave 

such  malice  shown. 
You  are  to  me  most  black,  and 

odious  grown: 
Ev'n   Perdiccas,    I   love   much 

more,  than  thee. 
And  pardon,  all  his  cruelties,  to 

me. 
Because  his  care,  and  tender- 
ness I  'ave  seen, 
In  snatching,  from  thy  Murth- 

'rous  hands,  my  Queen, 
When  you,  with  so  much  wrath, 

and  Rudeness  prest. 
That  dreadful  Javelin,   'gainst 

her  tender  Breast. 


Cassandra 
P.  554 
Thou  shalt  not  die,  (said 
she)  [i.e.  Roxana]  and  as  un- 
grateful as  thou  art,  I'le  defend 
thy  life  as  carefully  as  mine 
own.  I  give  thee  but  little 
thanks  for  that  care,  (replied 
Oroondates)  and  all  the  suc- 
cour I  can  receive  from  thee, 
cannot  but  be  very  odious  to 
me,  after  having  seen  thee 
present  that  Javelin  against  the 
breast  of  my  Princess:  I  love 
Perdiccas  a  great  deal  better, 
for  all  he  is  so  much  my  Enemy; 
and  for  his  tenderness  of  my 
Queen,  I  easily  pardon  all  his 
cruelty  toward  me;   .... 


The  style  of  The  Siege  of  Babylon  does  not  differ  essen- 
tially from  that  of  the  earlier  play  founded  on  Cleopatra; 
it  is  simple  rather  than  ornate,  and  direct  rather  than 
roundabout.  There  is  no  excess  of  figures  of  speech.  Where 
figures  are  introduced,  however,  they  are  generally  sustained 
through  several  lines  as  in  the  following  passages,  both 
drawn  from  the  sea: 


La  Calprenede's  Romances  119 

Madame,  how  like  the  Sea,  when  calm,  you  show, 
So  soft  your  aspect,  and  so  smooth,  your  brow; 
But  once,  this  day,  when  you  grew  rough  in  Arms, 
You  seem'd  to  me,  Hke  the  Wild  Seas,  in  Storms. 
The  quiet  Sea,  does  some  soft  pleasure  yield, 
But  its  great  power,  in  Tempests  is  beheld, 
His  dreadful  majesty,  then  best  appears, 
When  he  shoots  up  his  Waves,  to  the  bright  Stars 
You  are  more  noble,  in  your  dreadful  Arms. 
'Twas  that  fierce  bravery,  which  I  saw  in  you, 
That  only  could,  my  untam'd  Heart,  subdue.^ 

and  the  following: 

When  the  Sea's  calm,  the  Air  Serene,  and  clear, 

The  Ship  before  the  Wind,  each  Buoy  can  steer. 

But  when  the  Winds,  roar  in  their  shatter'd  shroudes, 

When  Heaven's  bright  face,  grows  terrible,  with  cloudes 

And  angry  Seas,  to  moving  Mountaines  grow. 

The  Pilot  then  his  skill,  and  Art  does  show 

'Tis  now,  Cassander,  you  must  show  your  skill. 

And  try,  if  you  can  save,  as  well  as  kill. 

Now  you  must  shew,  your  courage,  and  your  care, 

To  every  Guard,  and  every  Watch  repare: 

Statira  was  belov'd,  and  you  will  see 

Th'  enraged  Babylonians  Mutiny: 

They  will  revenge  her  Death,  on  you,  and  me. 

If  us,  from  threatning  stormes,  you  now  can  save, 

You  shall  enjoy,  the  Fortune,  of  the  Brave.^ 

The  Rival  Kings^ 
In  the  dedicatory  preface  to  The  Rival  Kings  Bankes 
makes  capital  of  his  indebtedness  to  La  Calprenede. 

1  Act  I,  scene  3,  p.  15.  2  Act  IV,  p.  46. 

3  Written  by  John  Bankes,  1677.     The  title-page  of  the  first  edition  reads: 
"The  Rival  Kings:    or  the  Loves  of  Oroondates  and  Statira  A  Tragedy. 
Acted  at  the  Theater-Royal.     Written  by  Mr.  Bankes. 
Divesne  Prisco  natus  ab  Inacho, 
Nil  interest,  au  Pauper,  &  inflma 
De  gente  sub  dio  moreris, 

Victima  nil  miserantis  Orci. — Horat.  Lib.  ii,  Ode  3. 
London,  Printed  for  L.  C.  in  Goat  Court  on  Ludgate  Hill,  1677." 

The  play  is  dedicated  in  high-flown  language  to  the  Right  Honourable 
The  Lady  Katherine  Herbert.  Unless  otherwise  specified  all  page  references 
are  to  this  edition.     The  British  Museum  catalogue  lists  only  this  one  edition. 


120         Herbert  Wynford  Hill 

I  bring  [he  writes]  in  my  behalf  too  the  Conqueror  of  the  World, 
to  lay  before  your  feet,  the  greatest  Man  that  ever  was,  who,  were 
he  living,  wou'd  become  a  Rival  to  his  dear  Ephestion,  and  behold 
in  your  Person,  as  well  the  sweet,  serene,  and  obliging  innocence 
of  Parisatis,  as  the  more  lofty  and  Imperial  Graces  of  his  Statira. 
This  great  Man,  Madam,  the  Author  of  the  famous  Cassandra 
thought  never  to  be  equall'd,  but  in  the  person  of  the  most  exquisite 
of  Lovers,  him  therefore  he  has  raised  in  the  Character  of  Oroon- 
dates,  to  be  a  Rival  to  the  mighty  Alexander  in  the  Romance,  and 
here  I  have  brought  him  to  be  so  in  you,  and  the  rather,  because 
I  prefer  him  to  the  Hkeness  of  the  young,  hopeful,  and  gallant 
Partner  of  your  seK,  which  I  pray  he  may  never  cease  to  be,  but 
early  anticipate  the  extraordinary  expectations  of  Mankind,  and 
crown  you  with  greater  happiness  then  Fame  and  Fancy  have 
yet  created  in  the  minds  of  the  most  Heroick  Lovers.  This,  and 
whatever  increases  your  fehcity  shall  be  the  perpetual  wishes  of, 
Madame, 

Your  most  Humble  and  Obedient  Servant 

John  Bankes 

In  the  prologue  Bankes  again  refers  to  Cassandra: 

[The  author] 

Bids  me  remember  ere  you  be  displeas'd 

How  with  Cassandra's  fam'd  Romance  ye  were  pleas'd 

How  many  nights  't  has  kept  you  long  awake 

Nay  and  have  wept  for  Oroondates  sake. 

It  seems  fairly  evident  that  Bankes  counted  that  the 
popularity  of  the  romance  would  help  create  an  interest 
in  his  play.  So  far  as  I  know,  all  critics  have  accepted 
Bankes's  statement  of  the  case  without  further  question. 
Langbaine  hints  vaguely  that  Bankes  may  have  consulted 
Curtius  and  Justin,^  although  there  is  not  the  slightest 
basis  for  any  such  conclusion.  But  no  one  appears  to  have 
recognized  any  indebtedness  to  Lee.     Bankes  in  his  epilogue 

1  Langbaine's  words  are:  "The  play  is  founded  chiefly  on  Cassandra  a 
famed  Romance  in  Pol.  As  to  what  concerns  Alexander,  I  refer  you  to  Curtius 
and  Justin." 


La  Calprenede's  Romances  121 

evidently  anticipated  that  such  indebtedness  would  be 
recognized  and  claims  that  his  play  was  written  a  year  before 
Lee's : 

But  justly  tax  the  Poets  want  of  sence. 
That  after  your  lov'd  Alexander  dare^ 
Bring  this  with  all  your  Ukings  to  compare, 
A  Play  with  scenes  and  Acting  so  admir'd 
As  if  the  Souls  they  play'd  had  them  inspir'd. 
So  'tis  with  her  that  has  an  ugly  face, 
Proud  of  false  charmes,  and  her  affected  grace. 
Sits  by  some  cry'd  up  Beauty  of  the  Town, 
And  imitates  each  glance  that's  not  her  own. 
And  when  some  Gallant  from  the  Pit  doth  bow, 
0  how  she  snatches  it  and  court'sies  low! 
The  careless  Beauty  then  sits  by  the  while. 
Kills  with  a  frown  and  raises  with  a  smile; — 
Yet  this  excuse  upon  the  Authors  score, 
This  though  come  last,  was  writ  a  year  before. 

a  statement  which  contradicts  Sidney  Lee's  explanation  that 
*'he  was  tempted  by  the  success  of  Lee's  Rival  Queens  to 
write  a  similar  tragedy  in  verse,  entitled  Rival  Kings. ^^ 
There  are,  however,  some  striking  resemblances  between 
the  two  plays,  resemblances  of  such  a  nature  that  they  could 
hardly  result  from  coincidence. 

Bankes  opens  the  play  with  the  presentation  of  the  dis- 
satisfaction among  Alexander's  generals  at  his  treatment  of 
certain  of  their  comrades,  a  number  of  whom  he  has  killed 
in  fits  of  ungovernable  rage.  The  names  of  these,  the  order 
of  the  presentation,  and  the  method  of  handling  the  scene 
are  the  same  as  in  Lee's  account.  This  in  itself  would  not  be 
convincing  proof  as  both  Plutarch  and  La  Calprenede  give 
most  of  the  material;  but  in  two  trifling  details  is  found 
evidence  of  Bankes's  familiarity  with  Lee's  play.  The 
first  of  these  is  Cassandra's  account  of  how  Alexander 

1  Lee's  play  was  commonly  known  by  its  second  title.  Alexander  the  Great. 


122 


Herbert  Wynford  Hill 


''struck  me  on  the  Face"  the  phrasing  being  identical  in 
the  two  plays. 

The  second  is  the  detail  that  Parmenio  was  stabbed  in  his 
own  garden  or  orchard.  This  detail  of  the  place  is  not  given 
by  Plutarch  or  La  Calpren^de  but  was  added  by  Lee  as  an 
effective  touch,  and  enlarged  upon  by  Bankes,  who  makes 
a  good  deal  of  the  fact  that  Parmenio  was  thus  treasonably 
slain  in  his  own  garden.  At  the  close  of  the  play,  in 
Alexander's  death  scene,  Bankes  imitates  Lee  in  giving  to 
Alexander  delirious  visions  of  battle.  The  phrasing  is  not 
the  same,  but  the  resemblance  is  unmistakable.^ 


The  Rival  Kings,  p.  50 

See,    see   the   Battailes    Joyn- 

Beat,  beat  the  Drumes, 

BiLcephalus  inrag'd  he 

Champs  and  foames; 

Darius  with  his  hooked 

Charriots  comes. 

Wheres  old  Parmenio  f 

Let  more  Trumpets  sound; 

How  his  proud  horse  does 
beat  the  fearful  ground! 

Haste,  haste — Ephestion's  rout- 
ed in  the  wing, — 

Now,  now  they  have   inclos'd 
him  in  a  Ring — 

Heark  how  they  shout  and  clap 
their  hands  for  joy. 

The  Gods  have  ravish'd 
my  beloved  Boy! 


1  The  speech  was  burlesqued  by 
below,  p.  158. 


The  Rival  Queens,  p.  63 

Sound,  sound,  keep  your  Ranks 

close,  ay  now  they  come; 

0  the   brave   dinn,   the   noble 
clank  of  Arms! 

Charge,  Charge  apace,  and  let 

the  Phalanx  move. 
Darius  comes, — ha!  let  me  in, 

none  dare 
To    cross    my    fury; — Philotas 

is  unhors'd;    Ay  'tis  Darius, 

1  see,  I  know  him  by  the  spark- 
ling Plumes, 

And   his   Gold   Chariot   drawn 

by  ten  white  Horses: 
But  like  a  Tempest  thus  I  pour 

upon  him. — 
He  bleeds,  with  that  last  blow 

I  brought  him  down 
He  tumbles,  take  him,  snatch 

the  Imperial  Crown. 
They    fly,    they    fly,— foUow, 

follow, — ^Victoria,  Victoria, 
Victoria, — 0  let  me  sleep. 

Durfey  in  The  Richmond  IHeir ess;    cf . 


La  Calprenede's  Romances  123 

In  other  places  throughout  the  play  there  are  echoes  from 
Lee  as,  for  instance,  the  following: 

The  Rival  Kings,  p.  43  The  Rival  Queens,  p.  49 

Alex.    The  hand  that  from  my  Alex.   When  from  my  reins  the 

Bosom  pul'd  a  Dart  JaveUn's  head  was  cut,  .... 

Ne're  felt  me  tremble  with  the  Did  I  tremble? 

sudden  smart; 

That  Bankes  rather  than  Lee  was  the  borrower  seems 
perfectly  clear.  There  is  no  evidence  that  Lee  saw  Bankes's 
play  before  writing  his  own,  whereas  Bankes  admits  a 
knowledge  of  Lee's  before  he  pubUshed  his  own.  Aside  from 
this,  however,  there  is  further  evidence  pointing  to  the  same 
conclusion.  His  assignment  of  the  chief  role  to  Alexander 
was  a  blunder  due  to  Lee's  influence.  A  brief  synopsis  of 
the  plots  will  help  to  establish  this  point.  In  La  Cal- 
prenede's  romance,  Oroondates,  the  hero,  in  a  night  attack 
on  the  Persians  invades  the  tent  of  Statira,  daughter  of 
Darius,  and  falls  desperately  in  love  with  her  at  sight. 
Later  he  goes  in  disguise  to  the  Persian  court  and  wins  her 
favor.  She  is,  however,  deceived  by  a  rival  into  believing 
him  false,  and  marries  Alexander.  Disguised  as  a  gardener, 
Oroondates  visits  Statira  now  the  wife  of  Alexander  and  is 
spurned.  He  rescues  Alexander  from  drowning,  and  later 
resists  the  temptation  to  kill  him  when  easy  opportunity 
offers.  Banished  from  Statira's  presence  he  languishes 
in  sickness  for  two  months;  then  setting  out  to  kill  Alex- 
ander he  hears  that  his  rival  is  dead  and  that  Statira  has 
been  executed.  The  romance  from  here  on  is  concerned 
with  the  rescue  of  Statira  who,  it  later  appears,  is  still  living. 

Here  it  would  seem  is  abundant  material  for  an  exciting 
play.     This  is  what  Bankes  did  with  it: 

Alexander  having  conquered  Persia  falls  in  love  with  the 
daughter  of  the  ruler,  but  is  scorned  by  her,  she  being  in  love 


124  Herbert  Wynford  Hill 

with  Oroondates.  Oroondates  visits  Statira  and  is  dis- 
covered by  Alexander,  who  puts  him  under  guard,  but  later 
generously  pardons  him  and  restores  him  his  freedom  and 
kingdom.  Alexander  further  invites  him  to  attend  his 
wedding  with  Statira  on  the  morrow.  Before  the  morrow, 
however,  Alexander  is  poisoned  and  Oroondates  gets  Statira. 
The  part  of  Oroondates  is  purely  a  filling  in  part;  he  does 
absolutely  nothing  except  wait  around  for  the  time  when 
the  heroine  is  to  be  awarded.  Alexander  holds  the  center 
of  the  stage  from  the  beginning  to  the  close.  He  is  drawn 
elaborately  in  shifting  moods:  now  controlled  by  fiery  love, 
now  by  impetuous,  ungovernable  fits  of  temper.  He  is 
presented  as  noble  and  forgiving  and  above  taking  unfair 
advantage  of  a  rival.  The  whole  of  the  last  act  is  concerned 
with  his  death,  and  the  play  closes  not  with  a  prophecy  of 
happiness  for  Oroondates  but  of  revenge  for  the  death  of 
Alexander. 

About  the  only  resemblance  between  the  plots  of  the  play 
and  the  romance  is  in  the  central  situation.  Alexander  is  in 
love  with  Statira,  who  is  in  love  with  Oroondates,  and  even 
this  requires  modification,  for  in  the  romance  Statira  is 
married  to  Alexander  and  faithful  to  him  until  death.  How 
a  dramatist  who  was  familiar  with  Cassandra  could  overlook 
such  dramatic  scenes  as  Oroondates  coming  upon  Statira 
asleep,  or  disguised  as  a  gardener,  or  hanging  over  the  sleep- 
ing Alexander  sword  in  hand,  is  difficult  to  conceive.  Evi- 
dently he  was  dazzled  by  the  success  of  the  play  of  his 
contemporary.  If  he  did  not  write  the  play  under  Lee's 
inspiration  he  certainly  vigorously  revised  it  after  Lee's 
play  came  out. 

In  the  subplot  as  well  there  is  indication  of  Lee's  influence; 
Bankes  imitates  Lee  in  making  Parisatis  in  love  with 
Lysimachus;    in   Cassandra  she   prefers   Hephestion,   and 


La  Calprenede's  Romances  125 

remains  faithful  to  him  until  he  dies  of  a  surfeit.  Bankes 
is  original  in  his  account  of  the  rescue  of  Parisatis  from  the 
devouring  flames  and  in  making  Hephestion  die  at  the  hands 
of  Lysimachus.  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  neither  Lee 
nor  Bankes  makes  effective  use  of  the  subplot.  In  The 
Rival  Queens  it  has  little  bearing  on  the  principal  plot,  but 
rather  distracts  attention;  in  The  Rival  Kings  although 
it  is  a  duplicating  plot  it  overshadows  the  principal  plot; 
Lysimachus  is  more  of  a  hero  than  Oroondates.  Although 
both  adopted  La  Calprenede's  machinery,  neither  knew  how 
to  manage  it. 

Bankes's  style  is  that  of  one  who  has  given  his  nights  and 
days  to  the  reading  of  contemporary  heroic  plays  like  Lee^s 
rather  than  of  La  Calprenede's  romances.  He  outdoes  Lee 
in  bombast  and  fustian,  but  it  is  with  great  effort.  In  the 
dedicatory  preface  to  the  Right  Honourable  The  Lady 
Katherine  Herbert  he  complains: 

How  hard  is  it  then  for  a  young  Writer  to  please  this  delicate 
Age,  wherein  every  year  the  Wits  study  the  fashion  of  Language  to 
refine,  and  alter  it,  as  they  do  their  Cloathes;  and  true  it  is,  that 
'tis  another  thing  to  write  the  sence  and  speeches  of  Heroes  that 
are  dead,  and  make  'em  speak  as  we  please,  govern'd  by  our  fancy, 
then  it  is  to  reach  the  minds  of  those  illustrious  Persons  that 
Poetry  is  forc'd  to  choose  to  be  above  its  judges,  the  Patrons  of 
Wit. 

A  few  specimens  of  his  up-to-date  garments  will  give  a 
sufficiently  accurate  idea  of  their  cut  and  finish.  The  costume 
flashes  and  sparkles  with  tinsel  scintillations:  the  gorgeous 
splendor  of  the  sun,  the  glitter  of  stars,  the  gleam  of  gems  and 
gold,  the  sparkling  flashing  brilliance  of  the  light  upon  the 
waters  dazzles  the  sight. 

Where'er  Alexander  comes  ''he  fills  the  Skye  with  light," 
"clad  in  Armour  made  of  shining  Gold,"  he  shoots  "like  a 


126  Herbert  Wynford  Hill 

Star'*  into  a  town,  or  '4ike  a  flaming  horrour  o're  the  World 
'e  Darts/'  and  "like  a  flaming  Beacon  he  does  fright  Tame 
Nations." 

Parisatis  is  described  as: 

Some  dazzling  Constellation  from  the  Skye! 
Sure  'tis  the  rich  Vermillion  that  does  grace 
The  evening  Sun  sent  t'  adorn  this  place/ 

She  out-dazzles  flames;  as  in  the  scene  where  Lysimachus 
rescues  her : 

Where  I  beheld  this  Goddess  on  the  floor, 
Yielding  to  flames,  that  did  her  eyes  adore 
In  a  dark  swoond,  and  yet  her  form  so  bright 
Her  glorious  beauty  dazzl'd  all  the  hght. 
I  took  this  sacred  burthen  in  one  arm, 
And  with  the  other  scattered  every  harm; 
The  Fire  recoil'd,  and  hung  upon  the  wall, 
Bowing  its  conquered  head,  and  down  did  fall: 
Like  the  bright  Taper,  it  did  soon  decay, 
That  lost  its  splendor  at  the  sight  of  day.^ 

and  again: 

Her  soul  appears  all  glorious  as  her  face, 
A  shining  Jewel  in  a  Chrystal  case.^ 

The  sort  of  pathetic  fallacy  included  in  the  next  to  the 
last  passage  quoted  is  thoroughly  characteristic  of  Bankes's 
style;  the  passage  first  quoted  describing  Parisatis  continues  :^ 

Heark,  how  the  Air  with  Gentle  murmur  steals. 
To  catch  the  Odour  on  her  Lips,  that  dwells, 
More  sweet  than  Breath,  sent  from  the  CousUps  Bed, 
Or  fragrant  Banks  with  purple  Violets  spred.^ 

1  p.  20,  beginning  of  Act  III. 

2  P.  4. 

3  Act  III,  p.  24. 
*  P.  20. 

6  Cf .  Twelfth  Night,  opening  lines. 


La  Calprenede's  Romances  127 

and  a  little  farther  on : 

Look  back,  0  beauteous  daughter  of  the  spring, 
Whose  divine  presence,  whiles  these  walks  she  treads 
Makes  chearful  Birds  with  welcome  Carrols  sing, 
And  drooping  flowers  hold  up  their  grateful  heads. 

Love's  Triumph^ 

In  1678,  Oroondates  and  Statira  were  forced  again  from 

the  peaceful  shades  of  their  happy  retirement  to  throw 

themselves  at  the  princely  feet  of  Her  Highness  The  Most 

Illustrious    Mary    Princess    of    Orange.^    The    play    thus 

1  "Loves  Triumph  or  The  Royal  Union:  A  Tragedy.  Written  By  Edward 
Cooke  Esq;  And  Dedicated  To  Her  Highness  The  Princess  of  Orange. 

....  amicus  dulcis,  ut  sequum  est, 
Cimi  mea  compenset  vitiis  bona:   pluribus  hisce 
(Si  modo  plura  mihi  bona  sunt)  inclinet:   amari 
Si  volet:  hae  lege,  in  trutina  ponetur  eadem. 

— HoR.  Serm.  Satyr.  3. 
London,  Printed  by  Thomas  James,  and  are  to  be  sold  by  him  at  the  Printing- 
Press    in    Mincing-lane,    and    William    Leach    at    the    Crown    in    Comhil. 
MDCLXXVIII." 

2  The  Epistle  Dedicatory.  To  Her  Highness  The  Most  Illustrious  Mary 
Princess  of  Orange  reads: 

" ....  Be  pleased  then  to  receive  this  Poem  (an  absolute  stranger  to  the 
world,  being  never  yet  seen  upon  the  publick  theatre)  with  that  generosity  and 
grace  you  are  always  ready  to  bestow  upon  the  imiortimate  and  fair:  and  such 
your  Highness  knows  were  Oroondates  and  Statira,  who  now  being  forc'd  again 
from  the  peaceful  shades  of  their  happy  retirement,  do  throw  themselves  at 
your  princely  feet,  with  the  reverence  and  humility  of  idolaters,  devoutly 
begging  their  Protection  might  be  in  yoiir  Highness'  umbrage  as  in  the  only 
place  where  they  can  best  be  secured  from  the  envy,  if  I  may  not  venture  to 
say,  malice  of  persecuting  censors." 

The  author  proceeds  to  describe  the  Duchess  in  true  heroic  style: 

"There  is  in  Your  Highness'  looks,  such  a  shine  and  lustre  of  beauty,  as 
is  not  to  be  resembled  by  anything  below  a  divinity;  and  as  the  brightness  and 
glory  of  it,  like  the  sun,  delights  and  refreshes  the  eyes  of  all  mankind;  so 
also  you  have  mixt  with  it  such  a  fierceness  and  grand  air  of  majesty,  that, 
like  a  divinity  too,  you  cannot  be  beheld  Avithout  fear  and  trembUng." 

After  continuing  for  some  time  in  this  vein,  he  turns  to  the  description 
of  her  husband,  truly  a  veritable  Artaban  or  Oroondates: 

"He  is  so  God-like  in  his  vertues,  and  all  his  actions;  a  prince  of  such 
dazzling  brightness  in  his  glory  and  renown,  as  it  is  impossible  to  be  exprest, 
except  we  set  down  whatever  is  accoimted  excellent,  and  that  he  is.  A  Prince 
that  knew  how  to  conquer,  before  the  world  could  reasonably  imagine  he  was 
capable  of  wielding  his  sword.  His  coimtenance  is  so  martial  that  it  plainly 
expresses  the  great  courage  he  hath,  not  to  know  what  fear  is  in  himself;  and 
yet  can  strike  a  general  dread  and  consternation  in  others;  so  that  he  needs 
not  be  obliged  to  the  use  of  arms  to  conquer  his  enemies,  for  he  can  easily 


128  Herbert  Wynford  Hill 

dedicated,  Edward  Cooke's  Loves  Triumph,  was  never  acted, 
and  only  one  edition  was  ever  published.  The  play  opens 
with  Roxana's  discovery  that  Statira,  whom  she  had  seen 
put  to  death,  still  lives,  protected  by  Perdiccas.  The  plot 
follows  in  detail  that  part  of  Cassandra  dramatized  by 
Pordage  except  that  the  Artaxerxes-Berenice  plot  is  sub- 
stituted for  the  Orontes-Thalestris  plot. 

The  play  is  a  close  dramatization  of  Cassandra;  there  is 
hardly  a  speech  of  any  length  that  is  not  a  paraphrase. 
There  are  a  few  short  scenes  of  a  few  lines  each  not  taken 
from  Cassandra.^  But  in  all  the  other  scenes  the  details  are 
the  same  and  in  most  of  the  scenes  the  words  are  closely 
paraphrased.^  In  one  place  at  least  he  has  followed  the 
romance  word  for  word,  where  he  gives  Roxana's  letter  to 
Oroondates.^  A  few  parallel  passages  will  show  how  faithfully 
Cooke  rendered  the  romance: 

Perdiccas  urges  that  Oroondates  be  freed.  Roxana 
opposes  it. 

Loves  Triumph  Cassandra 

Scene  V,  p.  6  P.  541 

Perdiccas  (speaking  to  Roxana):         [Perdiccas  speaking:] 
Madam,    I    think    their    satis-         It  is  just,  said  he,  that  Oroon- 
faction  must  dates  should  be  given  you,  and 

Not  be  despised,  but  given  them,      though  you  very  well  know  by 
'tis  just.  the  confession  I  make  you  of 

gain  the  victory  over  them  when  ere  he  pleases  but  to  employ  the  terror  of  his 
looks.  But  yet  withal,  he  has  such  grace-full  and  winning  charms,  as  none  is 
able  to  behold  him  without  admiration.  Such  justness  and  regularity  is  in 
his  shape  and  meen,  such  sweetness  in  his  motions,  and  such  a  generous  con- 
descention  in  all  his  ways;  that  he  does  not  so  much  make  to  himself  slaves  by 
the  force  of  his  valoiir,  as  he  does  cause  all  hearts  to  become  tributary  to  him 
by  his  obliging  and  familiar  address." 

1  Act  III,  scenes  1,  2,  4,  and  5;  Act  IV,  scene  6;  Act  V,  scenes  1,  2,  3, 4,  5, 
6,  and  7. 

2  This  is  true  of  Act  I,  scenes  3,  5,  8,  and  9;  Act  II,  scenes  1,  2,  7,  8,  9, 
10,  11,  and  12;  Act  III,  scenes  9  and  10;  Act  IV,  scenes  1,  2,  3,  8,  and  9;  and 
in  Act  V,  scenes  8,  10,  11,  12,  13,  14,  and  15. 

8  Act  II,  scene  11. 


La  Calpkenede's  Romances 


129 


Loves  Triumph 
And    though    you    knew    how 

much  my  int'rest  does 
Dechne   his   freedom,    and   his 

fetters  choose; 
Yet  is  their  Virtue   and  high 

Merit  such, 
To  grant  all  they  can  ask  is  not 

too  much. 


Cassandra 
my  love,  how  great  an  interest 
I  ought  to  have  in  detaining 
him,  and  what  damage  I  shall 
receive  by  his  hberty;  I'le  lay 
aside  the  consideration  of  my 
own  repose,  etc. 


Roxana  proposes  that  Statira  be  given  up  in  place  of 
Oroondates : 


She  would  as  weak  before  our 

walls  appear. 
As  now  she  does,  being  your 

close  prisoner 
But  Oroondates  is  a  Scythian 

born 
And  one  our  Absolute  defeat 

has  sworn: 
The  greatest  of  our  enemies  will 

be, 
And  we  are  ruin'd,  if  we  set 

him  free. 


Besides  she's  a  woman,  as 
weak  without  our  Walls  as  in 
our  Prison;  ....  but  Oroon- 
dates is  a  Scythian  that  has 
taken  arms  for  our  destruction 
....  moreover  he  is  the  greatest 
and  most  terrible  of  your  ene- 
mies, so  that  you  cannot  set  him 
at  liberty  without  contributing 
to  your  ruin. 


Seleucus  exasperated  at  this  speech  breaks  in: 


Do  you  no  more  our  services 

regard  ? 
Are  slights  for  loyalty  the  due 

reward  ? 
Is  it  because  among  the  dead 

we  lay. 
Mangled    with    wounds,     and 

neer  as  cold  as  they; 
Whilst  those,  who  now  dispose 

of  us,  did  flie, 


P.  542 
What  (said  he  with  a  louder 
voice  than  ordinary)  is  it  thus 
you  use  us  after  what  we  have 
done  for  this  party  ?  and  have 
you  so  soon  forgotten  that  we 
have  preserved  the  glory  of 
it  by  our  Actions;  is  it  because 
we  were  left  among  the  dead 
all  mangled  with  wounds,  while 
those  who  now  dispose  of  us 
sought  their  safety  behind  our 
Walls? 


130 


Herbert  Wynford  Hill 


Oroondates  receives  a  letter: 
Loves  Triumph 

My  Lord! 

You  are  permitted  to  see  my 
Rival,  according  to  your  desire, 
but  it  is  not  meant  you  should 
make  use  of  the  favour  to  the 
Ruin  of  those  who  grant  it  you. 
It  is  in  your  power  to  turn  it  to 
your  advantage,  if  you  use  it 
as  prudence  would  advise  you; 
and  in  councelling  Statira  not 
to  think  of  you  any  more: 
You  ought  to  receive  the  coun- 
sel she  will  give  you  to  loose  all 
thoughts  of  her.  This  is  the 
way  you  ought  to  follow,  if  you 
love  her  Hfe  since  it  shall  meerly 
depend  upon  the  success  of 
this  Enterview. 

ROXANA 


Cassandra 

My  Lord! 

You  are  permitted  to  see  my 
Rival,  according  to  your  desire, 
but  it  is  not  meant  you  should 
make  use  of  the  favour  to  the 
Ruin  of  those  who  grant  it  you. 
It  is  in  your  power  to  turn  it 
to  your  advantage,  if  you  use 
it  as  prudence  would  advise 
you;  and  in  councelUng  Sta- 
tira not  to  think  of  you  any 
more:  You  ought  to  receive 
the  counsel  she  will  give  you 
to  loose  all  thoughts  of  her. 
This  is  the  way  you  ought  to 
follow,  if  you  love  her  life  since 
it  shall  meerly  depend  upon 
the  success  of  this  Enterview. 

RoXANA 


The  characters  are  faithfully  reproduced;  indeed  here  as 
in  the  plot  the  author  seems  to  take  it  for  granted  that  his 
audience  is  familiar  with  Cassandra.  He  follows  La  Cal- 
prenede's  phrasing  so  closely  that  it  is  hard  to  identify  his 
own  style.  The  verse  is  stiff  and  labored,  utterly  lacking  in 
ease  and  grace.  Occasionally  we  get  a  glimpse  of  what  he 
can  do  in  such  passages  as  the  following  where  he  has  cut 
loose  from  the  parent  wing  and  ventured  a  few  flights  on  his 
own  pinions : 

Ye  mighty  Powers!  how  subtle  are  your  wayes! 

How  are  they  all  encircled  in  the  Rayes 

Of  richest  Mercies! 

As  glistring  Stars  which  oft  obscur'd  we  find, 

Yet  still  remain  the  same  the  clouds  behind.^ 


Act  II.  scene  12,  p.  26. 


La  Calprenede^s  Romances  131 

Again: 

'Tis  true  but  then  when  Angry  heaven  shrouds 

Its  glory  up  in  dark  and  sullen  clouds, 

We  ought  to  fear  least  from  those  clouds  should  break 

Such  storms  as  may  a  fatal  vengeance  speak 

And  now  my  Oroondates  is  in  armes 

Nothing  but  tears  can  give  me  pleasing  charmes.^ 

Or  this,  which  reminds  us  of  Bankes: 

I'll  act  the  Phaeton  of  my  Mrs  Eyes, 
And  with  her  Rayes  I'll  fire  their  Pallaces, 
And  make  one  Comet  of  the  spacious  skies.'^ 

He  had  great  difficulty  in  finding  rhymes  for  his  couplets. 
Such  rhymes  as  esteem,  him;  queen,  win;  declare,  fear; 
him,  sublime;  give,  leave,  greet  the  reader  on  every  page, 
showing  the  extremity  he  was  put  to. 

The  Young  King^ 
The  year  following  Loves  Triumph  there  appeared  at 
Dorset  Garden  Mrs.  Behn's  The  Young  King.^  This  play 
is  founded  on  one  of  the  most  interesting  of  the  minor 
histories  in  Cleopatra,  the  story  of  Alcamenes  and  Mena- 
lippa.^  The  main  plot  of  the  play  follows  the  story  as  told 
by  La  Calprenede  in  all  essential  details. 

1  Act  I,  scene  7,  p.  9. 

2  Act  IV,  scene  1,  p.  39. 

«  The  Young  King  was  first  published  1683.  Unless  otherwise  specified 
the  page  references  are  to  this  edition.  The  title-page  reads:  "The  Yoxmg 
King:  or,  the  Mistake.  As  'tis  acted  at  his  Royal  Highness  The  Dukes  Theatre. 
Written  by  A.  Behn.  London:  Printed  for  D.  Brown,  at  the  Black  Swan  and 
Bible  without  Temple-bar.  T.  Benskin  in  St.  Brides  Church-yard  Fleet-street, 
and  H.  Rhodes,  next  door  to  the  Bear-tavern  near  Bride-lane  in  Fleet-street. 
1683."     Another  edition  was  published  in  1698. 

*  Genest  (Vol.  I,  p.  273)  assigns  the  performance  to  the  latter  end  of 
1679  on  the  basis  that  the  "Epilogue  is  said  to  have  been  spoken  at  the  Duke 
of  Yorks  second  exile  into  Flanders."  The  play  was  written  several  years 
before;  it  was  the  first  of  the  plays  written  by  this  ingenious  author. 

6  William  Mears  in  his  Catalogue  of  Plays  (1713)  mentions  a  tragedy  called 
Alcameves  and  Menalippa,  and  ascribes  it  to  William  Philips.  I  hare  been 
xmable  to  see  a  copy  of  this  play. 


132  Herbert  Wynford  Hill 

Thersander  the  son  of  the  King  of  Scythia,  disguised 
under  the  name  of  Clemanthis,  visits  the  kingdom  of  the 
hostile  King  of  Dacia.  Among  the  Dacians  he  wins  a 
wonderful  reputation  for  valor,  among  other  exploits  saving 
the  life  of  the  general  of  the  army.  One  day,  sleeping  near 
a  murmuring  spring  in  a  beautiful  grove,  he  is  discovered 
by  Cleomena,  the  lovely  Princess  of  Dacia.  He  opens  his 
eyes  to  this  lovely  vision  and  leaves  his  liberty  at  her  feet. 
From  now  on  he  is  willing  to  follow  her  "to  th'  utmost 
bounds  of  the  Universe."  She  too  falls  in  love  but  disdains 
him  as  he  seems  to  be  of  low  station.  The  ''General "  whose 
life  the  hero  has  saved  is  less  particular  and  offers  the  hero 
his  daughter  in  marriage.  Cleomena  although  disdainful 
becomes  jealous  of  this  daughter  and  banishes  the  unhappy 
Clemanthis.  Thersander  in  his  own  character — and  un- 
recognized by  the  Dacians  as  Clemanthis — enters,  on  the 
Scythian  side,  a  battle  against  the  Dacians;  he  saves  his 
father's  life  and  turns  the  tide  of  the  battle  in  favor  of  the 
Scythians. 

He  can  no  longer  live  outside  the  presence  of  Cleomena 
and  again  as  Clemanthis  he  visits  the  Dacian  court.  The 
Dacians  challenge  Thersander  to  single  combat,  and  select 
as  their  champion  Clemanthis.  Thus  it  happens  that  our 
hero  faces  a  combat  with  himself.  Nothing  daunted,  he 
selects  a  friend  to  represent  himself  as  Clemanthis  and  he 
in  the  person  of  Thersander  is  to  capture  the  pseudo- 
Clemanthis,  the  understanding  being  that  neither  is  to  be 
injured.  This  highly  satisfactory  program  is  broken  into 
by  an  unforeseen  difficulty :  the  friend  representing  Cleman- 
this is  killed  by  rivals  for  the  hand  of  Cleomena.  Cleomena 
thinking  that  Thersander  is  the  party  guilty  of  the  death 
of  Clemanthis,  and  herself  being  trained  in  arms,  enters 
in  the  armor  of  Clemanthis  the  arena  against  Thersander. 


La  Calprenede^s  Romances  133 

Thersander  wounds  Cleomena  and  discovers  her  identity, 
but  she  recognizes  in  him  only  the  slayer  of  her  lover.  She 
is  set  free  and  the  King  of  Scythia  proposes  that  the  two 
nations  be  united  by  the  marriage  of  Thersander  and 
Cleomena.  Cleomena  is  horrified  at  the  proposal.  In 
disguise  she  penetrates  the  Scythian  lines  and  stabs  Ther- 
sander. As  he  is  dying  he  implores  a  visit  from  Cleomena; 
she  yields  at  the  last  moment  and  discovers  in  Thersander  her 
lover  whom  she  has  thought  dead.  She  confesses  her  love 
to  him,  and  he  recovers. 

To  this  main  plot  from  Cleopatra,  Mrs.  Behn  added  two 
subplots  not  from  La  Calprenede:  a  supporting  plot  built 
up  around  the  friend  killed  as  Clemanthis,  and  a  rather 
coarse  semi-comic  plot  based  on  the  character  of  Orsames  a 
young  man  who  has  never  seen  a  woman.^  In  addition  to 
the  characters  so  introduced  there  are  a  few  characters  not 
from  Cleopatra,  but  none  of  importance — the  fop-courtier,  a 
sort  of  Sir  Andrew,  might  be  noticed.  But  the  principal 
characters  are  taken  bodily  from  the  romance. 

The  characters  and  the  situations  and  the  incidents  are 
sufficiently  familiar  to  the  reader  by  this  time  to  call  for  no 
further  comment.  There  are  however  in  the  plots  some  new 
combinations,  and  a  sprinkling  of  novelty  such  as  to  give  it 
spice  and  interest.  The  story  as  told  by  La  Calprenede  is 
one  of  the  most  dramatic  of  his  minor  plots  and  very  vividly 
presented.  Mrs.  Behn  found  the  material  so  well  suited 
to  her  purpose  that  the  task  of  play  writing  was  reduced 
to  cutting  the  lines  and  putting  them  into  blank  verse.  A 
few  passages  will  illustrate  the  process. 

The  Heroine  discovers  the  hero  asleep  in  a  grove,  his 
plumed  cap  lying  near  by: 

»  Almanzor  in  Polezander  is  raised  in  the  same  ignorance. 


134 


Herbert  Wynford  Hill 


The  Young  King,  I,  ii,  p.  8 
Cleo.  Must  this  be  he  must  kill 

the  King  of  Scythiaf 
For  I  must  lay  no  claim  to  any 

other: 
Grant,  Oh  ye  Gods,  who  play 

with  Mortals  thus, 
That  him  for  whom  ye  have 

design'd  your  Slave, 
May  look  like  this  Unknown, 
And  I'll  be  ever  grateful  for  the 

Bounty. — 
But  these   are  vain  imaginary 

joys. 


Cleopatra,  Part  II,  p.  128 
[Men.]  Is  this  he,  to  whom  the 
Gods  have  destined  the  ruine 
of  the  King  of  Scythiaf  .  .  .  . 
If  it  please  the  Gods  (con- 
tinued she)  that  he  for  whom 
heaven  and  my  fortune  reserves 
me,  resemble  this  Unknown, 
how  much  shall  I  be  obliged  to 
their  bounty?  But  alas  (pur- 
sues she  with  a  sigh)  I  feed 
upon  vain  imaginations. 


The  hero  awakes  and,  seeing  her,  addresses  her: 


Ther.    Great  Goddess,   pardon 

an   unlucky   Stranger, 
The  errours  he  commits  'gainst 

your  Divinity, 
Who,  had  he  known  this  Grove 

had  Sacred  been, 
He  wou'd  not  have  prophan'd 

it  by  his  presence. 

P.  8 
Cleo.   Rise,  Sir,  I  am  no  Deity; 
Or  if  I  were,  I  cou'd  not  be 

offended 
To  meet  so  brave  a  man 
Ther.    Can  you  be  mortal! 
What    happy    Land    contains 

you?    Or  what  Men 
Are  worthy  to  adore  you? 
Cleo.  I  find  you  are  a  stranger 

to  this  place, 
You  else  had  known  me  to  be 

Cleomena. 


[Ale]  Great  Goddess,  said 
he,  pardon  to  a  stranger  the 
errour  he  may  have  committed 
against  your  Divinity;  had  I 
known  this  sacred  place,  I 
would  not  have  prophan'd  it 
by  my  presence. 


P.  129 
[Men.]  I  am  no  Goddess,  or, 
if  I  were,  I  could  not  be  dis- 
pleased to  meet  you: 

[Ale.]  What  Land  can  con- 
tain her,  or  what  men  are 
worthy  to  adore  her! 

[Men.]  ....  and  were  you  no 
stranger  ....  you  had  possibly 
known  the  Princess  Menalippa 


La  Calprenede's  Romances 


135 


The  Young  King 
Ther.    The  Princess  Cleomena! 

my  mortal  Enemy! 
Cleo.    You  seem  displeas'd  at 

the  knowledge  of  my  name; 
But,  give  me  leave  to  tell  you, 

yours  on  me 
Wou'd  have  another  Sense. 
Ther.    The  knowledge  of  your 

Name  has  not  displeased  me; 
But,    Madam,    I    had    sooner 

took  you  for 
The  Soveraign  of  the  world  than 

that  of  Dacia; 
Nor  ought  you  to  expect  less 

adoration 
From  all  that  World,  than  those 

who're  born  your  Slaves; 
— ^And   amongst   those   devout 

ones  number  him. 
Whose  happy  Fate  conducted 

to  your  Feet, 
And  who'll  esteem  himself  more 

fortunate. 
If  by  that  little  service  he  had 

rendered  you, 
Clemanthis'    Name    have    ever 

reach'd  your  Ear. 


Cleopatra 
....  MenaUppa,    his    mortal 
enemy. 

[Men.]  I  know  not  (said  she) 
whether  the  knowledge  of  my 
name  hath  given  you  any  dis- 
pleasure, but  I  should  be  very 
glad  to  learn  yours. 

[Ale]  the  knowledge  of  your 
name  hath  not  surprized  me 
....  I  should  rather  take 
you  for  the  Sovereign  of  the 
Universe,  than  the  Princess  of 
Dacia;  and  you  ought  not  to 
expect  less  homage  from  all 
men,  than  from  those  who  are 
born  your  subjects;  and 
amongst  the  most  humble 
adorers  of  those  marks  of  Di- 
vinity, which  appear  visible 
in  you,  you  may  number  him 
whom  his  good  fortune  hath 
conducted  to  your  Feet,  and 
who  will  esteem  himself  exceed- 
ing glorious  if  that  httle  service, 
by  which  he  hath  endeavored 
to  render  you,  the  name  of 
Alcimedon  hath  arrived  at  your 
ears. 


And  so  the  scene  runs,  closely  paraphrasing  the  scene  in 
the  romance.  Mrs.  Behn  has  also  copied  her  landscape 
from  La  Calpren^de.  , 


The  Young  King,  II,  iii, 
pp.  20+ 
Cleo.      Look    Clemanthis — on 
yonder  tuft  of  Trees, 


Cleopatra,  Part  II,  p.  132 

The  Princess  shewed  him  a 
Spring,  encompassed  with  some 


136 


Herbert  Wynford  Hill 


The  Young  King 

Near  which  there  is  a  Httle  mur- 
muring Spring, 

From  whence  a  Rivolet  does 
take  its  rise, 

And  branches  forth  in  Channels 
through  the  Garden; 

'Twas  near  a  place  like  that 
where  first  I  saw  Clemanthis. 

Ther.  Madam,  be  pleas' d  to 
add,  'twas  also  there 

Clemanthis  left  his  Liberty  at 
the  Feet 

Of  Divine  Cleomena; 

And  charg'd  himself  with  those 
too  glorious  Chains, 

Never  to  be  dismist  but  with 
his  Life. 

Cleo.  Stranger — before  I  pun- 
ish thy  Preseumption, 

Inform  me  who  it  is  that  has 
offended: 

Who  giving  me  no  other  knowl- 
edge of  him, 

Than  what  his  Sword  has  done 
— dares  raise  his  eyes  to  me  ? 


Cleopatra 
Trees,  from  whence  a  Rivulet 
took  its  rise,  branching  forth 
in  many  channels,  through  the 
Garden.  It  was  (said  she)  near 
such  a  place  as  this  that  I  first 
saw  Alcimedon: 


....  and  you  may  add, 
Madam,  replied  Alcammes, 
'Twas  in  that  place,  that  Al- 
cimedon left  his  liberty  at  the 
feet  of  the  divine  Menalippa, 
and  charged  himself  with  those 
glorious  Chains  which  he  will 
carry  to  his  tomb. 


Stranger,  said  she,  if  I  behold 
thy  boldness  with  rigour,  I 
should  judge  it  worthy  of  pun- 
ishment, ....  first  let  her 
know  who  is  this  audacious 
man,  that  without  giving  us 
any  other  knowledge  than  that 
of  his  Sword,  dares  lift  his  eyes 
to  the  Princess  of  Dacia. 


In  her  character  presentation  Mrs.  Behn  sticks  closely 
to  La  Calprenede's  interpretation.  Note  her  presentation 
of  the  jealous  rage  of  the  heroine:^ 


1  Note  also  in  the  speech  of  the  heroine  when  she  discovers  her  supposed 
lover  dead  (III,  iv;  Cleopatra,  Part  II,  p.  155)  and  the  hero's  speech  when  he 
discovers  he  has  been  fighting  against  the  heroine  (,The  Young  King,  IV,  ii; 
Cleopatra,  Part  II,  p.  157).  The  heroine's  letter  to  the  hero  in  answer  to  his 
proposal  {The  Young  King,  IV,  v,  p.  153)  is  patched  up  from  lines  taken  from 
the  letter  in  the  romance  {Cleopatra,  Part  II,  p.  165).  The  trial  of  the  heroine 
for  her  murderous  assault  on  the  hero  {The  Young  King,  V,  1),  follows  closely 


La  Calprenede's  Romances 


137 


The  Young  King,  II,  4,  p.  26 

'Twas  but  even  now,  he  lov'd 
me  with  such  Ardor; 

And  he,  who  promis'd  me  the 
Crown  of  Scythia 

Dars't  thou  become  unjust,  un- 
grateful Stranger! 

Who  having  rais'd  thy  Eyes  to 
Cleomena 

Would  sacrifice  her  to  another 
Mistress: 

Traitor — hast  thou  the  impu- 
dence to  appear  before  me, 


Cleopatra,  Part  II,  p.  138 
....  this  man  who  late 
loved  me  with  so  much  ardor 
....  he  who  promised  to 
Crown  me  Queen  of  Scythia, 
should  be  no  other  than  a  De- 
ceiver ....  who  having  lifted 
his  eyes  to  MenaUppa  .... 
would  now  sacrifice  her  to 
Barzana's  Daughter?  Traytor, 
hast  thou  the  impudence  to 
present  thy  self  before  me  ? 


the  scene  in  the  romance  (Cleopatra,  Part  II,  pp.  170+) .     The  reconciliation 
scene  duplicates  that  of  the  romance: 


The  Young  King,  Y,  4,  p.  59 

Cleo.  Thersander,  I  am  come  to  beg 
thy  pardon, 

If  thou  art  innocent,  as  I  must  be- 
lieve thee. 

And  here  before  the  King  to  make 
confession 

Of  what  I  did  refuse  the  Queen  my 
Mother. 

Know  then,  I  lov'd!  and  with  a 
perfect  passion. 

The  most  unfortunate  of  men, 
Clemanthis. 

His  Birth  I  never  knew,  but  do  be- 
have 

It  was  Illustrious,  as  were  his 
Actions; 

But  I  have  lost  him  by  a  fatal 
accident, 

That  very  day  he  should  have  fought 
with  you. 

Ther.  No,  I  shaU  never  complain  of 
Cleomena 

If  she  still  love  Clemanthis. 

Cleo.  There  needs  no  more  to  make 
me  know  that  Voice. 

Oh  stay,  this  joy  too  suddenly  sur- 
prizes .... 

Oh,  my  Clemanthis!  do  I  hold  thee 
fast? 


Cleopatra,  Part  II,  p.  177 
[Alcamenes]   I  come  to  make  that 
reparation   which   I   owe   to   you  if 
you  are  innocent  .... 

I  will  make  a  confession  of  that 
before  the  King  ....  which  I  re- 
fused to  confess  ....  to  my  own 
Mother  ....  I  have  loved  with  an 
innocent  affection  the  valiant  Al- 
cimedon. 


His  birth  was  never  known  to  me, 
though  I  am  not  ignorant  that  it 
was  of  the  most  illustrious  amongst 
men;  ....  I  have  lost  him  by  a 
dismal  accident,  on  that  day  he 
shoidd  have  fought  with  you. 


Alcamenes  cannot  complain  of 
Menalippa's  cruelty,  if  MenaUppa 
still  loves  her  Alcimedon.  He  spake 
only  these  few  words  and  there 
needed  no  more  to  make  MenaUppa 
know  the  beloved  voyce  of  Alcimedon 

Throwing  her  arms  about  his  neck, 
....  Alcimedon,  said  she! 


138  Herbert  Wynford  Hill 

It  would  be  impossible  to  follow  a  source  so  closely  as 
does  Mrs.  Behn  without  catching  some  of  the  style.  And  in 
some  of  the  places  where  she  uses  her  own  invention  we  find 
passages  like  the  following  in  La  Calprenede's  vein.  Urania 
describes  Amintas: 

A  tempting  Face  and  shape: 
A  Tongue  bewitching,  soft,  and  Breath  as  sweet 
As  is  the  welcome  Breeze  that  does  restore 
Life  to  man  half  kill'd  with  heat  before: 
But  has  a  Heart  as  false  as  Seas  in  Calms, 
Smiles  j5rst  to  tempt,  then  mines  with  its  Storms.^ 

Whatever  the  reason,  there  was  for  nearly  two  decades  a 
dearth  of  heroic  plays.  In  1695,  however,  Lee's  The  Rival 
Queens  was  revived  with  great  magnificence  and  in  the  next 
two  years  appeared  two  plays  taken  from  La  Calprenede. 
These  were  The  Neglected  Virtue,  1696,  and  The  Unnatural 
Brother,  1697. 

Neglected  Virtue,  or  The  Unhappy  Conqueror^ 
No  author  is  assigned.  Mr.  H[ildebrand]  Horden,  who 
wrote  and  spoke  one  of  the  prologues,  in  a  prefatory  note 
dedicating  the  play  to  the  Honourable  Sir  John  Smith, 
Baronet,  admits  responsibility  for  the  publishing  of  the  play, 
but  modestly  assigns  the  authorship  to  a  friend.  No  one, 
however,  can  read  the  preface  without  leaning  strongly 
to  the  opinion  that  Mr.  Horden  himself  is  the  friend  referred 
to.  In  the  first  place,  the  play  was  not  very  successful  and 
was  severely  attacked  by  the  critics;  and  there  was  accord- 
ingly little  glory  to  be  gained  by  coming  forward  as  the 
author.     In  the  second  place,  Horden  writing  of   'Hhose 

1  Act  I,  scene  1,  p.  4. 

« The  title-page  reads:  "Neglected  Virtue:  Or,  The  Unhappy  Con- 
querour.  A  Play,  Acted  at  the  Theatre-Royal.  By  His  Majesty's  Servants. 
London:  Printed  for  Henry  Rhodes  in  Fleet  Street,  Richard  Parker,  at  the 
Royal-Exchange,  Sam  Briscoe,  the  Corner  Shop  of  Charles-street,  in  Russell-' 
street,   Covent-Garden,   1696." 


La  Calpren^jde's  Romances  139 

wide-mouth'd  Curs,  the  Criticks,"  says,  "  But  since  they  have 
had  their  Ends  in  running  it  down,  'tis  under  the  Shelter 
of  your  Name  I  desire  a  poor  maim'd  Thing,  that  did  its 
best  to  shew  them  Sport,  may  lye  secure  from  farther 
danger."  A  friend  might  thus  violently  assail  the  critics, 
but  it  is  highly  improbable  that  a  friend  would  speak  so 
deprecatingly  of  the  play  as  to  call  it  a  ''poor  maim'd 
Thing."^ 

The  main  plot  of  Neglected  Virtue  is  based  on  one  of  the 
supporting  plots  of  Cleopatra^  namely,  that  of  Artaban 
and  Elisa.  The  play  has  a  rather  weak  subplot^  intended  to 
furnish  some  comic  elements  related  to  the  main  plot  very 
slightly.  The  main  plot  opens  with  the  account  of  a  battle 
between  the  Medes  and  Parthians,  fought  by  Tigranes, 
king  of  the  Medes,  to  win  Alinda,  daughter  of  Phraates,  king 
of  the  Parthians.  Artaban,  the  hero,  has  been  banished 
because  having  won  great  victories  for  the  Parthians  he 
has  the  insolence  to  ask  for  the  hand  of  Alinda.  Checking 
his  resentment  he  comes  to  the  aid  of  Phraates  in  the  nick 
of  time  to  save  him  from  defeat  at  the  hands  of  Tigranes. 

To  this  point  the  play  follows  the  plot  as  given  by  La  Cal- 
prenede.  Now,  contrary  to  the  romance,  Phraates  of  the 
play  yields  temporarily  to  the  suit  of  the  hero.  The  action 
is  straightway  brought  back  into  the  lines  of  the  romance 
through  a  false  oracle,^  which  sets  Phraates  against  the 
marriage  of  his  daughter  to  Artaban;    as  in  the  romance 

1  John  Mottley,  in  his  "  List  of  all  the  English  Dramatic  Poets"  (appended 
to  Whincop's  Scanderberg,  printed  London,  1747)  assigns  the  play  to  Horden, 
although  on  just  what  basis  he  does  not  state. 

2  The  comic  subplot  is  from  Fletcher  according  to  the  revised  Langbaine 
(cf.  p.  165,  1699  ed.;    cf.  also  Genest,  II,  83). 

3  The  oracle  is  worked  up  by  the  Queen  who  has  fallen  in  love  with  Arta- 
ban. This  situation  of  an  imscrupulous  queen  in  love  with  the  hero  is  a  con- 
ventional one  in  the  romance  and  heroic  plays.  Cf.  Cassandra,  Cleopatra, 
Pharamond;  Aurengzebe,  The  Indian  Emperor,  The  Indian  Queen,  Alcibiades, 
Don  Carlos,  etc. 


140  Herbert  Wynford  Hill 

Alinda  is  promised  to  Tigranes,  and  Artaban  is  banished. 
In  both  the  play  and  the  romance  Artaban  attacks  and  kills 
one  of  the  guards,  and  being  captured  grows  insolent.  The 
King  offers  him  his  life  as  a  reward  for  his  services.  Artaban 
rejects  the  offer  and  by  boastful  threats  spurs  the  King  on  to 
take  his  life.  He  is  again  banished.  He  furiously  desires  to 
take  up  arms  against  Phraates  but  is  restrained  by  a  promise 
he  has  made  not  to  fight  against  the  father  of  the  heroine. 
At  the  risk  of  his  life  he  returns  to  see  Alinda.  Here  the 
author  of  the  play  takes  final  leave  of  the  plot  of  the  romance. 
La  Calprenede  brings  the  hero  and  heroine  together  in  a 
happy  conclusion.  All  the  chief  characters  of  the  play  meet 
with  violent  death:  Artaban  kills  Tigranes,  Memnon  kills 
the  King  and  the  Queen,  the  heroine  poisons  herself,  and  the 
hero  falls  upon  his  sword.^ 

With  the  exception  of  the  Queen  and  Memnon  the  char- 
acters of  the  play  are  taken  from  Cleopatra,^  The  bright- 
eyed  heroine  Alinda  is  thus  described  by  Artaban  :^ 

Thou  art  all  Goodness,  perfect  Charity; 

Nor  does  the  Aetherial  Maid  that  bears  that  Name, 

With  half  thy  Beams,  and  brighten'd  Beauties  shine; 

Oh!  I  cou'd  look,  and  love,  and  gaze,  and  live. 

And  bask  my  self  within  these  Rays  for  ever: 

Thy  Eye's  my  Sphere  of  Light,  thy  Breast  my  Globe; 

My  Garden's  in  thy  Face,  and  in  thy  Heart  my  Love."* 

She  is  courageous  and  faithful  in  adversity  and  most  beauti- 
ful when  in  tears  (Act  IV,  scene  2,  p.  30) : 

1  In  making  the  conclusion  tragic  he  was  following  the  precedent  set  by 
Lee,  who  ends  nearly  all  his  plays  in  tragedy.  Note  especially  the  endings  of 
Gloriana,  Mithridates,  and  Caesar  Borgia;  cf.  also  the  endings  of  Otway's 
Alcibiades  and  Don  Carlos,  Tate's  Loyal  General,  etc. 

2  Elisa  of  the  romance  is  given  the  name  Alinda;  but  the  other  characters 
as  Phraates,  Artaban,  Tigranes,  etc.,  retain  the  names  given  in  Cleopatra. 

8  Act  II,  p.  18,  first  edition. 

*  For  a  good  burlesque  pictiu*e  of  this  kind  of  description  see  frontispiece  to 


La  Calprenede's  Romances  141 

Whilst  from  her  Eyes  those  Diamond  quarries  run, 
The  teary  Streams  that  Dew'd  her  Rosal  cheeks, 
Which  as  they  fell  bending  to  kiss  her  Lips, 
Her  sighs  drove  back,  to  seek  their  Grave  below. 

The  Queen  of  Sorrow  ne'er  was  Dressed  like  her. 
So  beautifull  she  seem'd,  so  full  of  Grace  , 

Amidst  her  griefs,  she  might  have  charm'd  a  God. 

Sorel's  Berger  extravagant.     Written  on  the  fly-leaf  of  the  edition  before  me 
is  the  following  description: 

John  Bucknall 
The  Extravagant  Sheperd's  Rhapsody  on  his  Paragon  of  Beauty. 

See  Frontispiece. 

How  shall  I  describe  my  Beauteous  Fair, 

Net  Work,  the  Tresses  of  her  Silken  Hair. 

Each  Locke,  attracting,  strongly  doth  impart 

As  if  from  every  Plat  there  hung  a  Heart. 

Upon  her  forehead  is  Urchin  Cupid's  Seat, 

Her  Eyebrows,  Uke  her  coral  Lips,  bid  Fools  Retreat. 

Her  killing  Eyes,  the  Radient  Sim  outshines, 

Roses  and  Lillies  on  her  Cheeks  Combines. 

Her  teeth,  like  Rows  of  Precious  Pearls  appear. 

Her  Breasts,  like  Globes,  that  Monarchs  would  endear. 

Her  Balmy  Lips  enflames  the  Lovers  sign 

Her  Neck,  a  Pillar  of  fairest  Ivory 

Her  Bosom  is  Love's  Paragon  to  see; 

Which  draws  the  Curtain,  fringed  with  Vanity. 

Whatever  Natm-e  unto  Me  has  freely  Giv'n 

As  free  I'd  yield,  as  I  received  from  Heav'n 

Her  Image  is  a  Pattern  for  the  Lover's  Praise. 

Oft  Flies  are  Burnt  within  the  Candles  blaze 

So  to  Conclude  and  make  the  most  of  Time 

Let  Critics,  feeling  Read,  and  mend  the  Rhyme. 

T.  H.  Thompson 
St.  James  Westminstre, 
J.  B.  July,  1813 

The  prologue  to  Thomas  Duflfet's   The  Empress  of  Morocco  is  a  similar 
burlesque: 

As  when  some  dogrel-monger  raises 

Up  Muse,  to  flatter  Doxies  praises. 

He  talks  of  Gems  and  Paradises, 

Perfumes  and  Arabian  Spices; 

Making  up  Phantastick  Posies 

Of  Eye-lids,  Foreheads,  Cheeks  and  Noses, 

CaUing  them  Lillies,  Pinks  and  Roses 

Teeth  Orient  Pearl,  and  Coral  Lips  are. 

Necks  Alablaster  and  Marble  Hips  are; 

Prating  of  Diamonds,  Saphyrs,  Rubies, 

What  a  Pudder's  with  these  Boobies  ? 

Dim  eyes  are  Stars,  and  Red  hair's  Guinnies: 

And  thus  described  by  these  Ninnies, 

As  they  sit  scribbUng  on  Ale-Benches 

Are  Homely  dowdy  Country  Wenches 

So  when  this  Plot  quite  purged  of  Ale  is. 

In  naked  truth  but  a  plain  Tale  is; 

And  in  such  dress  we  mean  to  shew  it, 

In  spight  of  our  daron'd  Fustian  Poet, 

Who  has  disguis'd  it  with  dull  Hist'ri's, 

Worse  than  his  Brethren  e're  did  Mistress. 


142  Herbert  Wynford  Hill 

Artaban  is  a  distinct  copy  of  La  Calprenede's  Artaban. 
He  is  invincible  and  of  godlike  appearance  and  demeanor. 
He  has  a  natural  fierceness,  which  when  he  is  roused  to 
anger  strikes  terror  to  the  hearts  of  all  who  see  him.  The 
Queen  says, 

Oh  Heavens!  how  he  looks,  a  brave  disdain 

Strikes  hke  the  Darts  of  Lightning  through  his  Eyes,i 

yet  "Alinda's  name  can  charm  his  utmost  rage."^  He  is 
possessed  of  unbounded  self-confidence  which  results  in 
mighty  boasts.     He  tells  Alinda: 

Say,  brightest  Pattern  of  the  Deities,  speak, 
And  let  me  know  what  Dowries  you  expect. 

Name  in  what  fertile  soil  you'll  have  a  Throne; 
Be  it  beyond  the  Alps,  or  there  where  runs 
Pactolus  Streams  oe'r  Sands  of  shining  Gold. 
I'll  lead  my  conquering  Bands  where  the  bold  Foot 
Of  Warriour  never  trod,  oe'r  Hills  of  Snow, 
Where  Summer's  Suns  ne'r  made  a  Chearful  Day 
Or  changing  climates  farther  Eastward  go; 
Where  Nature  in  her  Fire,  expiring  lies. 
And  the  parch'd  Earth  gapes  for  a  blast  of  Air: 
May  search  lost  Paradice,  and  place  ye  there.' 

And  speaking  to  Tigranes  he  says: 

That  Life  of  mine  is  sacred,  placed  so  high 
In  the  large  Throne  of  Fame;  thy  Httle  Arm 
Can  never  rise  to  touch  it,  as  well  thou  mays't 
Great  Jove  in  yonder  Starry  Seat  attempt, 
And  from  his  Fellow-Gods,  discard  him  thence, 
Bottle  his  Winds  and  stand  his  Thunder-bolts. 

» p.  25. 

2  Cf.  also  p.  28: 

My  very  Rage  luxuriant  for  thee  grown  is  stopt, 

Like  the  great  Thunderer  .... 

By  a  kind  Goddess,  etc. 

» P.  15. 


La  Calprenede^s  Romances  143 

The  author  does  not  follow  La  Calpren^de's  phrasing 
closely  but  evidently  wrote  the  play  with  the  romance  fresh 
in  his  mind,  as  occasional  parallels  like  the  following  indicate 
Artaban  being  refused  Alinda  bursts  forth: 

Neglected  Virtue  Cleopatra 

Act  III,  scene  1,  p.  25  Part  I,  p.  247 

Look  o're  my  Breast,  and  see         His  all  the  fruit  I  can  shew 

the  Scars  it  wears;  of  the  scars  I  wear  for  you  and 

These    Seams    torn    to    defend  the  unfortunate  Tigranes,  from 

thy  tottering  Throne,  whose    lofty    crest    I    plucked 

And  tell  me,  tell  me,  deluded  down  Victory,  to  perch  her  upon 

fearfull  King,  your  Standards,   tumbled  him 

Have  I  deserv'd  such  Infamous  from  his  Throne 

returns  ? 

The  conversation  throughout  the  rest  of  this  scene  has 
a  general  resemblance  to  that  in  Cleopatra. 

The  style  of  Neglected  Virtue  has  been  fairly  well  indi- 
cated by  the  passages  already  quoted.  In  the  serious  portions 
of  the  play  the  style  is  that  of  La  Calprenede  carried  to 
extremes.  It  is  more  flamboyant,  more  exaggerated,  but  still 
hauntingly  like  La  Calprenede's.  This  is  especially  notice- 
able in  the  numerous  figures  drawn  from  Nature,  such  as 
the  following : 

So  have  I  seen  two  Sister-Streams  that  spread. 
Their  Silver  Currents  from  one  Fountain's  Head, 
Kiss,  and  take  each  their  several  way,  through  all 
The  fertile  Soyle  where  their  soft  Murmurs  fall. 
Till  having  run  their  Course,  they  kindly  greet. 
And  in  the  Sea,  their  twin'd  Embraces  meet.^ 

The  following  is  even  more  like  La  Calprendde  although 
I  can  quote  no  close  parallel  (p.  15) : 

1  Act  II,  p,  19.  Cf.  The  lines  in  The  Rehearsal:  "  So  boar  and  sow," 
etc.,  a  parody  on  Dryden's  "So  two  fond  Turtles,"  etc. 


144         Herbert  Wynford  Hill 

Close  by  the  Mossy  Head  of  some  Sweet  Spring, 
Whence  gentle  Streams  their  murmuring  Cadence  make 
Thro'  flowry  Meads,  Green  Lanes,  and  Whispering  Groves. 
I'd  rather  Hve  with  thee  than  in  gay  Courts, 
Those  busie  Markets  of  Revenge  and  Hate. 

The  Unnatural  Brother^ 

Filmer  encouraged  by  the  renewal  of  interest  in  La  Cal- 
prenede  now  tried  his  hand  at  a  play  from  this  author.  He 
selected  for  his  plot  the  story  of  Theander  and  Alcione  from 
the  Cassandra.  It  is  interesting  chiefly  as  being  the  only 
play  based  on  a  minor  history  from  Cassandra,  all  the  plays 
heretofore  from  Cassandra  being  taken  from  the  principal 
plot. 

Filmer's  play  was  first  acted  at  the  Lincoln's  Inn  Fields 
in  1697,  and  published  the  same  year.  It  met  with  very 
poor  success  and  passed  from  the  stage  after  the  third  per- 
formance. In  the  preface  the  author  comments  on  the  ill 
success  of  the  play.  On  inquiry  from  his  friends  he  discovers 
that  the  faults  of  the  play  are : 

That  the  Play  was  too  grave  for  the  Age,  That  I  had  made  a 
choice  of  too  few  Persons,  and  that  the  Stage  was  never  filled; 
there  seldom  appearing  above  two  at  a  time,  and  never  above 
three,  till  the  end  and  winding  up  of  the  whole. 

He  defends  the  play  by  appeal  to  the  ancients,  con- 
tinuing : 

These  are  the  mighty  faults  that  have  so  intirely  Damned 
this  Play:  and  yet  if  these  must  be  thought  faults  now  in  our  nicer 
Age,  I  am  sure  they  were  not  thought  such  heretofore  by  the 
Antients;'  for  they  generally  made  use  of  but  few  Persons,  and 
never  made  it  any  part  of  their  business  to  fill  the  stage. 

1  The  title-page  reads  as  follows:  "The  Unnatural  Brother.  A  Tragedy, 
it  was  acted  by  His  Majesties  Servants,  at  the  Theatre  in  Little  Lincolns- 
Inn-Pields.  London.  Printed  by  J.  Orme,  for  Richard  Wilkin,  at  the  Kings- 
Head  in  St.  Paul's  Church-yard.     MDCXCVII." 


La  Calprenede's  Romances  145 

Motteux  attempted  to  revive  a  part  of  the  play  in  his 
Novelty;^  the  fourth  act,  called  The  Unfortunate  Couple, 
being  a  condensation  of  the  last  part  of  Filmer's  play  with 
some  slight  changes.  Motteux  appears  to  have  selected 
The  Unnatural  Brother  largely  for  the  reason  that  it  had 
already  been  studied  by  the  company,  and  yet  he  makes 
bold  to  praise  the  play  in  his  preface. 

Then  I  wanted  nothing  but  a  Tragedy  to  have  something  of 
every  kind  [he  naively  explains].  But,  as  I  said  already,  the  best 
Tragedians  were  engaged  in  other  Plays.  At  last  I  bethought  my 
self  of  one  already  studied,  called  The  Unnatural  Brother,  written 
by  an  ingenious  Gentleman,  and  acted  6  months  ago,,  tho  not 
with  the  success  it  deserved.  Yet  the  latter  Part  was  extremely 
applauded :  So  I  was  perswaded  to  make  bold  with  it,  as  I  do,  with 
thankful  Acknowledgment;  but  rather,  because  I  could  easily 
contract  the  most  moving  Part  of  the  Story  into  the  Compass  of 
one  Act,  with  some  Additions;  yet  without  mutilating  my  Author's 
Sense,  for  which  I  have  all  the  Veneration  imaginable. 

This  presentation  evidently  met  with  no  better  reception 
than  the  original,  if  we  may  believe  Gildon^  who  disposes  of 
it  briefly  as  ''The  Novelty;  every  word  stolen  and  then 
Damned.'' 

The  characters  in  The  Unnatural  Brother  with  the  excep- 
tion of  Leonora  correspond  closely  to  those  of  Cassandrd. 
Leonora  is  original  with  Filmer.  Grammount  plays  the  role 
of  Theander,  the  honest  loving  husband  who  is  led  astray 
by  villains.  Montigny  takes  the  part  played  by  Cleonimus 
in  the  romance — the  friend  faithful  to  the  end  in  spite  of 
everything,  Dampierre,  La  Calprenede's  Astiages,  and 
Beaufort,  Bagistanes.  Filmer  departs  from  the  romance, 
however,    in    making    Dampierre    the    major    villain.     In 

i"The  Novelty  Every  Act  a  Play  Being  a  Short  Pastoral.  Comedy, 
Masque,  Tragedy,  and  Farce  after  the  Italian  manner.  As  it  is  Acted  at  the 
New-Theatre  in  Little  Lincoln's  Inn-flelds.  etc.     London,  1697." 

2  Charles  Gildon,  A  Comparison  Between  the  Two  Stages,  etc.,  1702. 


146  Herbert  Wynford  Hill 

Cassandra  Bagistanes  is  the  leading  spirit;  he  it  is  who 
through  inhuman  cunning  and  bloodthirstiness  leads  all  on 
to  destruction.^ 

The  following  table  will  help  to  keep  the  reader  straight 
on  the  relation  of  the  characters  in  the  two  accounts : 

The  Characters  op  The  Corresponding 

The  Unnatural  Brother  Characters  in  Cassandra 

Beaufort,  Governour  of  Lyons  Bagistanes,  Governour  of  Baby- 
lon 

Grammount,     Nephew    to    the  Theander,    Nephew    to    Bagis- 

Governour  tanes 

Dampierre,   Brother  to   Gram-  Astiages,  Brother  to  Theander 

mont 

Montigny,    Friend    to    Gram-  Cleonimus,  Friend  to  Theander 

mount 

Elvira,  Wife  to  Grammount  Alcione,  Wife  to  Theander 
Leonora,  Sister  to  Grammount 

Lysette,  Woman  to  Elvira  A  Maid,  Woman  to  Alcione 

Nearly  all  of  the  incidents  and  situations  of  the  play  are 
taken  from  the  romance,  as  the  following  comparative  lists 
will  show:^ 


1  There  are  foior  wicked  brothers  in  Cleopatra,  Ptolemey,  Artaxes,  Adal- 
lus,  and  Phraates.  but  no  one  of  these  appears  to  have  influenced  Filmer. 

2  In  the  preface  Fihner  acknowledges  his  indebtedness  to  the  Cas- 
sandra: "But  I  had  almost  forgot  to  acquaint  the  Reader  with  one  objection 
more,  against  this  Play,  than  what  I  have  mentioned.  On  the  third  day,  there 
was  a  certain  Lady  in  one  of  the  Boxes,  who  thought  she  could  not  more 
effectually  decry  it,  than  by  declaring  aloud  that  it  was  nothing  but  an  old 
story  taken  out  of  Cassandra,  And  I  readily  grant  it:  yet  can  by  no  means 
aUow  that  to  be  a  fault.  Mr.  Dryden  has  said  too  much  in  the  defense  of 
such  an  innocent  piece  of  theft,  and  extremely  well  justified  the  thing,  both 
by  his  Arguments  and  Practice.  All  I  desire  of  that  Lady,  by  way  of  amends, 
is,  that  if  ever  these  Papers  have  the  happiness  to  reach  her  hands,  she  would 
be  pleased  to  renew  her  acquaintance  with  the  story  of  Alcinoe  [evidently  for 
Alcione]  in  that  Romance,  and  compare  it  with  this  Play:  And  then  I  dare 
be  bold  to  aflftrm,  she  will  not  think  me  over-much  beholding  to  it:  But  may 
perhaps  be  so  charitable,  as  to  entertain  a  more  favourable  opinion  of  the 
Play,  and  of  the  Poet." 


La  Calprenede's  Romances 


147 


The  Unnatural  Brother 

1.  Beaufort  tells  Dampierre 
of  his  lust  for  Elvira;  they  plot 
to  seduce  her. 

2.  Montigny  is  beloved  by 
Leonora. 

3.  Dampierre  interrupts  a 
conversation  between  Leonora 
and  Elvira  in  the  garden. 

4.  Leonora  runs  away. 
Dampierre  attempts  to  ravish 
Elvira  but  is  prevented  by  the 
timely  arrival  of  Montigny. 

5.  Dampierre  accuses  Mon- 
tigny to  Grammount  of  attempt- 
ing to  ravish  Elvira. 

6.  Montigny  learning  of  Dam- 
pierre's  treachery  shields  him 
from  Grammount  because  Dam- 
pierre is  Grammount' s  brother. 

7.  One  of  Elvira's  maids  cor- 
rupted by  Dampierre  confesses 
falsely  to  tearing  up  a  love  note 
from  Elvira  to  Montigny. 

8.  Grammount  accuses  El- 
vira of  inconstancy;  she  stabs 
herself. 

9.  Lysette,  the  maid,  con- 
fesses to  her  treachery. 

10.  She  is  poisoned  by  Dam- 
pierre. 

11.  Grammount  stabs  him- 
self and  dies. 

12.  Elvira  dies. 

13.  Dampierre  is  condemned 
to  die  by  torture. 

14.  Beaufort  retires  to  a  her- 
mitage. 


Cassandra 
The  same. 


This  situation  is  original 
with  Filmer;  there  is  no  Leo- 
nora in  Cassandra. 

Astiages  comes  upon  Alcione 
in  a  garden,  and  presents  inde- 
cent proposals  from  Bagistanes. 

Bagistanes  attempts  to  ravish 
Alcione  in  his  treasure  chamber 
but  is  prevented  by  the  timely 
arrival  of  Cleonimus. 

The  same. 


The  same. 
The  same. 

The  same. 

The  same. 

Not  in  the  romance. 

The  same. 

Alcione  recovers. 
Not  in  the  romance. 

Not  in  the  romance. 


148 


Herbert  Wynford  Hill 


Although  Filmer  thus  faithfully  renders  La  Calprenede's 
account,  he  does  not  slavishly  follow  his  phrasing.  At  no 
point  has  he  taken  passages  word  for  word,  although  in 
some  cases  he  has  paraphrased  closely.  It  appears  that  the 
story  in  the  romance  was  fresh  in  his  mind,  but  he  certainly 
did  not  work  with  the  pages  of  Cassandra  open  before  him. 
A  few  passages  will  serve  to  show  to  what  extent  he  depended 
upon  his  source : 


The  Unnatural  Brother 
Act  IV,  p.  35 

The  scene  is  before  Gram- 
mount's  house.  The  stage  di- 
rections read: 

Enter  Grammount  and  a 
page  before  him  with  a  Flam- 
beau. A  noise  of  opening  a  door 
and  Lysette  enters  who  seeing 
Grammount  pretends  to  avoid 
him.  He  stops  her  and  turning 
up  her  hood  sees  her  tearing  a 
Letter  with  her  Teeth. 
Gram.     Hah!    Who    art    thou 

that  stealest  Away  so  guiltily  ? 
Nay,  I  must  see,  Lysette! 
Whither  away  at  this  unseason- 
able time  of  night, 
And   what   paper's   that   thou 

Humblest  so  ? 
Lyset.     Alas!     I    am    undone, 

Pardon  me;  sir. 
Oh  Pardon  me  I  beseech  you. 
Gram.  Would'st  have  me  pard'n 

thee  e're  I  know  thy  fault, 
Confess,  and  then  perhaps  thou 

mays' t  deserve  it. 
Lyset.     Oh    never,    never,    all 

that  I  desire. 


Cassandra 

Pp.  229+ 
When  he  was  close  by  his 
own  house,  he  by  the  light  of  a 
Torch  which  one  of  his  servants 
carried  before  him,  saw  one  of 
the  maids  come  out,  .... 

0  gods!  (said  she)  I  am  un- 
done, and  at  the  same  time,  she 
tore  a  Paper  which  she  had  in 
her  hand,  and  thrust  the  pieces 
hastily  into  her  mouth. 

(Theander  speaks) 
Whither     goest     thou     and 
whither  wert  thou  carrying  that 
paper  which  I  saw  thee  tear 
just  now? 

Ah;  Sir  (said  she)  I  beseech 
you  pardon  me;  and  repeating 
those  words  twice  or  thrice,  she 
appeared  to  be  strucken  with 
so  great  an  astonishment  that 
Theander' s  was  redoubled  by 
it.  Speak  (said  he)  and  if  thou 
wilt  have  me  pardon  thee  con- 
fess thy  fault  to  me  presently. 


La  Calprenede's  Romances 


149 


The  Unnatural  Brother 
Is  that  you  would  be  so  just, 

as  to  believe 
Me  only  guilty,  for  on  my  life 

My   Lady's   innocent. 
Gram.     Hah!  thy  Lady,  speak, 

what  of  her? 
Lyset.    Why,  she  I  do  declare 

to  all  the  world 
Is  innocent,  by  all  that's  good 

she  is. 
Nay  were  I  to  die  next  minute, 
My    Tongue    should    end    my 

story  with  that  truth. 
Gram.    I  ask  not  of  her  inno- 
cence, but  tell  me. 
And  tell   me   truely,    as   thou 

hop'st  for  any 
Mercy  from  me,  whither  wert 

thou 
Stealing  with  that  Letter,  and 

what 
Were  the  contents  of  it? 
Lyset.    For   Heaven  sake,  and 

for  your  own,  Sir, 
Press  me  no  further,  here   on 

my  knees 
I  beg  you  would  not. 
Gram.     Ha!    Do'st  thou  dally 

with  me  ? 
Come,    speak    quickly,    or    by 

heaven  thou  diest. 
Lyset.    Do  with  me  what  you 

please. 
But  force  me  not,  I  do  beseech 

you. 
To  a  Confession  that — 
Gram.  What!   Speak  I  say,  tell 

me. 


Cassandra 
That  subtil  wench  wiping  her 
eyes,  and  seeming  to  tremble, 
Ah!  Sir,  (reply'd  she)  my  obe- 
dience is  guilty,  but  yet  both 
my  Lady,  and  I  are  more  inno- 
cent in  effect  than  in  appear- 
ance, and  if  I  tore  this  letter, 
it  was  my  fear  that  made  me 
imprudently  commit  that  fault. 
But  from  whom,  and  to  whom 
wert  thou  carrying  it,  demanded 
Theander  hastily? 


150 


Herbert  Wynford  Hill 


The  Unnatural  Brother 

What  was  that  Paper,  to  whom 
directed, 

And  from  whom  ? 

Lyset.  Alas  I  die  for  fear. 

Gram.  If  thou  continuest  ob- 
stinate. 

Not  all  the  world  shall  save 
thee  from  my  Fury. 

Lyset.   It  was  — 

Gram.  What  was  it,  speak  I 
say? 

Lyset.  It  was  a  Letter  — 

Gram.  From  whom  ? 

Lyset.  It  was  a  Letter  from  my 
Lady  — 

Gram.  Well  said,  to  whom  ? 

Lyset.  To  —  Yet,  Sir,  excuse 
me  I  conjure  you. 

Gram.  Hah  more  trifling,  out 
with  it  boldly,  or  — 

Lyset.    'Twas  to  Montigny,  Sir, 

Your  best,  and  dearest  friend, 
Montigny. 

Gram.  To  Montigny! 

Was  it  to  Montigny,  that  El- 
vira sent  thee 

With  that  Letter  at  this  un- 
seasonable hour?i 


Cassandra 


My    Lady     (answered 
sent  it  to  Cleonimus. 


she) 


Theander  quite  confounded, 
or  rather  quite  beside  himself, 
eyeing  the  wench  from  head  to 
foot.  Did  Alcione  (said  he)  send 
thee  to  Cleonimus  at  this  time 
of  the  night  and  in  the  dark  as 
I  met  thee  ? 


The  Death  Scene 
The  Unnatural  Brother,  p.  44 

Gram.   (To  Elvira) 

No,  fear  not  too  hasty,  or  too 
hard 

A  sentence  from  my  mouth. 

False  as  thou  art, 


A.V. 

Cassandra,  P.  232 
[Thea.]  Fear  not  any  worse 
usage  from  my  resentment 
than  what  you  have  already 
received;  my  grief  may  well 
send  me  to  my  grave,  but  it 


In  Lee's  Caesar  Borgia  there  is  a  similar  incident. 


La  Calprenede's  Romances 


151 


The  Unnatural  Brother 

I  cannot  hate,  where  once  I 
loved  so  well. 

Live  then  Elvira  live  long,  but 
live  a 

Stranger  to  Grammount.  And 
that  thou  may'st  Uve 

Happily,  wipe  from  thy  mem- 
ory the 

Dearest  passages  of  some  few 
past  years, 

And  see  thou  quite  forget,  there 
ere  was  such 

A  wretch  i'th  world  as  I  am. 

(After  both  have  stabbed  them- 
selves) 

P.  49 

Elv.   Oh  my  Grammount! 

My  love  can  pardon  thee  any- 
thing. 

Yet  't  was  unkind,  to  give  me 
thus 

A  second  wound,  a  wound  more 
grievous 

To  the  poor  Elvira,  than  the 
first 

Which  gave  her  death. 


Cassandra 
shall  never  make  me  injure  her 
I  have  too  dearly  and  too  per- 
fectly loved  ....  live  without 
my  friendship 


P.  233 

[Ah.]  Theander,  dear  cruel 
Theander,  was  not  my  death 
painful  enough,  without  your 
making  it  a  thousand  times 
more  sensible,  by  being  guilty 
of  yours  ? 


It  is  easy  to  understand  the  ill  success  of  The  Unnatural 
Brother.  The  play  has  no  snap  or  vim;  from  start  to  finish 
the  action  drags  along  at  an  intolerably  slow  pace.  Where 
the  situations  demand  swift,  incisive  action,  there  are  to  be 
found  needless  explanation  and  philosophical  digressions. 
Grammount  near  the  close  of  the  play  facing  the  destruction 
of  his  home,  speaks  thus: 

What  is  that  thing  caU'd  Happiness,  which  Men 
With  so  much  noise  and  eager  zeal  pursue 


152         Herbert  Wynford  Hill 

So  many  several  ways,  each  hoping  to 
Attain  it  in  the  possession  of  some 
Distant  longed-for  Blessing,  tho'  all  alike 
In  vain  ?    For  even  that  darhng  Blessing 
Plac'd  in  a  nearer  light,  and  once  enjoy'd, 
Loses  but  too  much  of  its  wonted  lustre; 
Or  else,  encountered  with  rude  Crosses  from 
Abroad,  is  lost  and  buried  in  a  thick 
And  dismal  Cloud  of  rank  uneasie  Cares. 
There's  no  such  thing  then  as  a  happy  man 
On  this  side  of  the  Grave.     Look  on  me,  all 
You  vain  Pretenders,  look  on  me,  and  own 
At  last  this  Truth;  for  all  the  dearest  Joys 
Of  Life  did  seem  to  court  and  flatter  me: 
Yet  all  those  Joys  are  in  one  moment  dampt, 
All  vanisht,  all  lost  to  me  for  ever.^ 

There  is  little  bombast;  the  blank  verse,  although  prosy, 
carries  the  thought  simply  and  with  considerable  dignity. 
Figures  of  speech  are  not  numerous,  although  occasionally 
outbursts  like  the  following  occur: 

Elvira:    From  those  dark  Clouds  which  in  thy  Face  appear, 
My  boading  heart  foretells  a  rising  Storm 
Of  grief  within  thy  Breast,  speak,  my  Grammount, 
What  ruder  cares,  to  thy  Elvira  yet 
Unknown,  sit  heavy  on  thy  drooping  Soul  P 

and  again: 

Honour!  thou  strange  fantastick  airy  thing. 
Thou  losing  bargain  to  the  bravest  Souls, 
Thou  easie  purchase,  costly  to  maintain, 
Thou  cloke  to  bold  ambition's  restless  hopes; 
No  more,  to  thy  capricious  humours  will 
I  blindly  bow,  nor  court  thee  as  a  slave  .^ 

But  in  the  main  the  style  is  not  ornate  nor  unpleasing. 
Like  the  action  of  the  play  it  is  plodding,  unexciting, 
colorless. 

1  Act  V,  p.  41.  2  Act  I,  p.  8.  3  Act  I,  p.  9. 


La  Calpkenede's  Romances  153 

the  decline  of  the  heroic  style 
In  1702  Mr.  Betterton  addressed  an  audience  at  the  New 
Theatre  m  Lincolns  Inn  Fields  in  the  following  words: 
An  Ancient  Poet  will  appear  to  Night, 
Rais'd  from  Elysium  to  the  Realms  of  Light. 
The  softest  Charmer  of  a  Charming  Age, 
Assumes  the  Buskin  and  ascends  the  Stage, 
To  move  your  passions  and  your  Hearts  engage. 
But  oh!  How  hardly  will  he  reach  his  Aim, 
When  Love  and  Honour  are  his  only  Theme  ? 
There  was  a  time,  when  all  those  Passions  felt, 
And  soothing  Bards  could  stubborn  Heroes  melt. 
An  Amorous  Monarch  fill'd  a  peaceful  Throne, 
And  laughing  Cupids  Perch'd  upon  his  Crown. 
Still  in  some  Breasts  the  British  Spirit  rose 
Which  scorns  all  chains  but  what  the  Fair  impose. 
Then  Altemira  might  have  hop'd  Success, 
A  tender  Audience  sharing  her  Distress. 
Then  Heroes,  govern'd  by  severer  Rules, 
Had  not  been  laugh'd  at  for  Romantick  Fools, 
But  in  this  Iron-Age  your  Souls  to  move, 
In  vain  we  try  by  Honour  or  by  Love. 
The  certain  way  to  please  your  Vitious  Tast, 
Are  Streams  of  Blood  and  Volleys  of  Bombast. 
Dancers  and  Tumblers  now  the  Stage  Prophane, 
Musick  and  Farce  alone  our  Plays  sustain. 
And  Art  and  Nature  leave  the  trifling  Scene  .^ 

The  complaint  was  not  a  new  one.  In  1668  Edward 
Howard^  bewails  the  prevalence  of  farce,  and  heroic  plays: 

Works  that  have  their  measures  adorned  with  Trappings  of 
Rhime,  which  how'ere  they  have  succeeded  in  wit  or  design,  is 
still  thought  musick,  as  the  Heroick  Tone  now  goes. 

The  other  extream  which  deserves  some  Reflection;  and  which 
far  more  debases  the  Dignity  of  the  Stage,  is  that  of  Farce  or 

1  Prologue  by  Henry  St.  John,  Esq.,  prefaced  to  Charles  Boyle's  revision 
of  Roger  Boyle's  Altemira,  London,  1702. 

2  In  a  preface  to  The  Usurper,  London,  1668.  (The  play  was  licensed 
August  2,  1667.) 


154         Herbert  Wynford  Hill 

Scommatick  Plays,  which  have  so  tickled  some  late  Audiences, 
with  I  know  not  what  kind  of  JoUity,  that  true  Comedy  is  fool'd 
out  of  Countenance,  and  instead  of  Humor  and  wit  (the  Stages 
most  Legitimate  issue)  leaves  it  to  the  inheritance  of  Changlings. 
No  less  Articke  seems  to  many,  the  wresting  in  of  Dances,  when 
unnatural  and  improper  to  the  business  of  the  Scene  and  Plot,  as 
if  by  an  unintelligible  Charm  of  their  Muses,  the  Actors  were  like 
Fairies  conjur'd  up,  that  the  play  might  vanish  in  a  Dance. 

Nearly  every  preface  or  prologue  to  heroic  play  or  tragedy 
during  the  Restoration  period  contains  some  fling  at  farces 
and  light  comedy.  During  the  early  part  of  the  period  the 
extreme  types — the  farces  and  heroic  plays  were  the  most 
popular  both  appealing  to  the  eye  and  ear  through  the  inter- 
spersion  of  songs  and  spectacles.  Those  who  professed  to 
write  true  comedy  attacked  the  heroic  play  and  the  farces. 
Roger  Boyle  in  Mr.  Anthony  wrote: 

The  way  to  please  you  is  easie  if  we  knew't 
A  Jigg,  a  Song,  a  Rhime  or  two  will  do't 
Damn'd  Plays  shall  be  adorn' d  with  mighty  Scenes, 
And  Fustian  shall  be  spoke  in  huge  machines; 
And  we  will  purling  Streams  and  Fire-works  show.^ 

In  1680  Dryden  wrote  in  a  prologue  to  Tates'  Loyal 
General: 

The  Plays  that  take  on  our  Corrupted  Stage, 
Methinks  resemble  the  distracted  Age; 
Noise,  Madness,  all  unreasonable  Things, 
That  strike  at  Sense,  as  Rebels  do  at  Kings! 
The  stile  of  Forty  One  our  Poets  write. 
And  you  are  grown  to  judge  like  Forty  Eight. 
Such  Censures  our  mistaking  Audience  make, 
That  'tis  almost  grown  Scandalous  to  Take! 
They  talk  of  Feavours  that  infect  the  Brains, 
But  Non-sence  is  the  new  Disease  that  reigns. 
Weak  Stomacks  with  a  long  Disease  opprest, 

"Licensed  August  27,  1689;  published,  1690;  the  quotation  is  from  the 
Epilogue. 


La  Calprenede^s  Romances  155 

Cannot  the  Cordials  of  strong  Wit  digest: 

Therefore  thin  Nourishment  of  Farce  ye  choose, 

Decoctions  of  a  Barly-water  Muse: 

A  Meal  of  Tragedy  wou'd  make  ye  Sick, 

Unless  it  were  a  very  tender  Chick. 

Some  Scenes  in  Sippets  wou'd  be  worth  our  time, 

Those  wou'd  go  down;  some  Love  that's  poach'd  in  Rime;  etc. 

Mrs.  Behn  who  had  written  in  1677  (cf.  Prologue  and  the 
Epilogue  to  The  Rover,  1677  ed.) : 

In  short  the  only  Witt  that's  now  in  Fashion, 

Is  but  the  gleanings  of  good  Conversation. 

Oh,  Sir,  in  my  young  days,  what  lofty  Wit, 

What  high  strain'd  Scenes  of  Fighting  there  were  writ 

in  1687  (Prologue  to  the  Emperor  of  the  Moon,  1687  ed.) 
complains : 

Long  and  at  vast  Expence  the  industrious  Stage 

Has  strove  to  please  a  dull  ungrateful  Age: 

With  Hero's  and  with  Gods  we  first  began 

And  thunder'd  to  you  in  Heroick  Strain. 

Some  dying  Love-sick  Queen  each  Night  you  injoy'd, 

And  with  Magnificence,  at  last  were  cloy'd: 

Our  Drums  and  Trumpets  frighted  all  the  Women; 

Our  fighting  scar'd  the  Beaux  and  Billet  Deux  Men. 

So  Spark  in  an  Intrigue  of  Quality, 

Grows  weary  of  his  splendid  Drudgery; 

Hates  the  Fatigue,  and  cries  a  Pox  upon  her. 

What  a  damn'd  bustle's  here  with  Love  and  Honour. 

In  1698  Motteux  wrote: 

I  have  no  reason  to  complain  of  the  reception  which  this 
Tragedy  met  with,  tho  it  appeared  first  at  a  time  not  very  favorable 
to  Composures  of  this  kind,  and  divested  of  all  things  that  now 
recommend  a  Play  most  to  the  Liking  of  the  Many.  For  it  has 
no  Singing,  no  Dancing,  no  mixture  of  Comedy,  no  Mirth,  no 
change  of  Scene,  no  rich  Dresses,  no  Show,  no  Rants,  no  Similes, 
no  Battle,  no  Kilhng  on  the  Stage,  no  Ghost,  no  Prodigy;  and 
what's  yet  more,  no  Smut,  no  Profaneness,  nor  Immorahty.^ 

1  Preface  to  Beauty  in  Distress,  a  Tragedy,  London,  1698. 


156  Herbert  Wynford  Hill 

David  Craufurd  in  the  Epilogue  to  Love  at  First  Sight 
(published  London,  1704)  wrote: 

Well  Sirs — you  now  expect  an  Epilogue, 

But  this  same  Bard  of  ours  is  such  a  Rogue, 

I  durst  have  Sworn  he  was  possess'd  to  day, 

No  Rhimes  he  cry'd  no,  not  to  save  my  play; 

I  ask'd  his  Reason  why  ?    'Sdeath  Sir,  quoth  he. 

Go  but  to  Drury-Lane,  and  there  you'll  see. 

Gay  Decorations  to  Amuse  the  Town, 

While  parting  Lovers  do  their  Fate  bemoan; 

And  Hug,  and  Sigh,  and  Weep,  and  Sob  alone. 

Wax  Tapers,  Gaudy  Cloaths,  rais'd  Prizes  too, 

Yet  even  the  Play  thus  Garnish' d  wou'd  not  do : 

So  Poysonous  Druggs,  by  Empericks  gilded  are, 

So  Strumpets  varnish  o're  Unwholsome  Ware. 

While  you  with  Neghgence  my  Muse  receive 

And  but  a  slender  Entertainment  give, 

But  look  you  Sir,  Said  I,  the  Case  is  plain, 

You  have  no  Pompous  Lines  to  swell  the  Scene; 

As  the  last  Poet  did  in  Drury-Lane, 

No  Angels  Wings,  to  sprout  where  Serpents  grew, 

No  Hills,  nor  Dales,  nor  Groves  of  Lovely  Hue, 

No  Vehicles  with  Milk  white  Steed's  so  rare. 

So  Beautiful  so  sweet  or  Debonair, 

With  Royal  Innocence  they  may  Compare, 

No  Perfumes,  Rocks,  not  Grots; — and  so  forth,  Sir. 

The  writers  of  farces  were  pretty  well  content  with  their 
own  success  and  paid  little  attention  to  the  attacks  of  the 
writers  more  seriously  inclined.  There  are,  however,  a  few 
direct  attacks  or  replies ;  and  once  in  a  while  there  appeared 
a  satire  or  burlesque  of  the  heroic  style.  The  use  of  rhyme 
in  tragedy  was,  of  course,  attacked  by  writers  who  ap- 
proved the  other  features  of  the  heroic  play.  Robert 
Howard  who  had  assisted  Dryden  in  The  Indian  Queen 
opposed  Dryden' s  contention  for  rhyme, ^  in  the  preface  to 

1  Cf.  Dedicatory  letter  prefaced  to  The  Rival  Ladies,  1664, 


La  Calprenede's  Romances  157 

Foure  New  Plays;  Dryden  replied  to  this  in  his  Essay  of 
Dramatic  Poetry,  1668;  Howard  answered  in  the  preface  to 
the  Great  Favourite,  1668;  and  Dryden  closed  the  debate  in 
his  Defence  of  an  Essay,  etc.,  prefaced  to  the  second  edition 
of  The  Indian  Emperor,  1668.^ 

Edward  Howard  in  The  Women^s  Conquest,^  wrote  in 
1671: 

Verse  that  ends  in  Rhime  is  generally  now  the  Mode  of  Heroick 
Plays,  but  whether  so  natural  and  proper,  I  will  not  controvert, 
otherwise  then  by  declaring  my  opinion,  that  I  like  it  not  so  well 
as  I  do  Verse  without  it,  and  I  conceive  I  have  reason  enough  on 
my  side;  for  who  can  believe  that  words  must  not  of  necessity 
lose  much  of  their  grace,  and  emphasis,  when  delivered  in  Rhime, 
which  limits  so  much  of  both  to  it  self";  etc.  through  several 
pages. ^ 

Satires  and  burlesques  of  the  heroic  style  appeared 
from  time  to  time.^  One  of  these  we  might  note  in  pass- 
ing, a  burlesque  of  Alexander's  speech  in  the  closing  scene 
of  Lee's  Rival  Queens.^  This  was  written  by  Thomas 
Durfey  and  prefixed  to  the  1693  edition  of  The  Richmond 
Heiress  under  the  heading  of  a  ''Song,  by  way  of  Dialogue 
between  a  Mad-man  and  a  M ad-woman' ': 

He:    Behold  the  Man  that  with  Gigantick  might 
Dares  Combat  Heaven  again; 

i  Ct.  D.  of  N.B.,  under  Robt.  Howard. 

2  The  Womens  Conquest:    A  Tragi-Comedy,  London,  1671. 

3  Cf.  also  Lord  John  CaryU's  Sir  Solomon,  1671:  "There  is  more  Wit  in 
tliis  Dance  than  in  a  dozen  of  your  modem  Plays:  they  with  their  gingle 
of  Rhime  and  Plajdng  with  Words,  go  just  Uke  the  Chimes  of  St.  Bart'elmy: 
and  please  the  Ladies  ears,  but  effect  not  the  imderstanding  at  all."  And 
WilUam  Joyner  in  The  Roman  Empress,  1671,  speaks  slurringly  of  the  "gingliag 
Antithesis  of  Love  and  Honour." 

*  One  of  the  earliest  and  most  famous  of  the  burlesques  was  The  Re- 
hearsal, satirizing  especially  The  Conquest  of  Granada,  and  also  Marriage  d  la 
Mode,  Love  in  a  Nunnery,  Tyrannic  Love,  The  Maiden  Queen,  The  Wild  Gallant, 
The  Amorous  Prince,  The  Villain,  etc.  In  Prance  numerous  satirical  dramas 
had  been  written;  the  most  famous  of  these  was  Moli6re's  Les  prScieuses 
ridicules,  1659;   this  was  leveled  especially  against  ScudSry's  CUlie. 

5  Cf.  above,  p.  122. 


158         Herbekt  Wynford  Hill 

Storm  Jove^s  bright  Palace,  put  the  Gods  to  flight, 

Chaos  renew,  and  make  perpetual  Night. 

Come  on  ye  fighting  Fools,  that  petty  Jars  maintain 

I've  all  the  War  of  Europe  in  my  Brain. 
She:  Who's  he  that  talks  of  War, 

When  Charming  Beauty  comes: 

Within  whose  Face  divinely  fair, 

Eternal  Pleasure  blooms 

When  I  appear  the  Martial  God, 

A  Conquer'd  Victim  Ues, 

Obeys  each  Glance,  each  awful  Nod, 

And  fears  the  Lightning  of  my  kiUing  Eyes, 

More  than  the  fiercest  Thunder  in  the  Skies. 
He:    Now,  now,  we  mount  up  high. 

The  Suns  bright  God  and  I, 

Charge  on  the  Azure  downs  of  ample  Sky. 

See,  see,  how  the  Immortal  Cowards  run: 

Pursue,  pursue,  drive  o'er  the  Burning  Zone: 

From  thence  come  rowUng  down. 

And  search  the  Globe  below  with  all  the  gulphy  Main, 

To  find  my  lost,  my  wandring  Sense  again. 

By  the  end  of  the  century  the  heroic  romance  had  run 
its  course.  In  the  early  part  of  the  eighteenth  century  the 
romances  were  still  read^  and  there  are  references  to  them 
occasionally  in  plays.^  But  they  belonged  to  the  past;  the 
people  were  getting  tired  of  Artabans  and  Statiras,  and 
awakening  to  an  interest  in  people  and  affairs  less  remotely 
connected  with  their  daily  life. 

1  Cf.  Addison,  Spectator. 

*  Cf.  Steele's  Tender  Husband. 


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